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White Paper on Defence

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 May 2014

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Questions (16)

Robert Troy

Question:

16. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Defence if the White Paper on Defence will commit to the restoration of a three brigade structure in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20048/14]

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Written answers

Arising from the comprehensive review of expenditure in 2011, the Government decided to stabilise the strength ceiling of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 Permanent Defence Force personnel. The three Brigade structure then in place had originally been designed in the 1990s, when the strength ceiling of the PDF was 11,500 personnel. Clearly, at a strength ceiling of 9,500 personnel, this structure was no longer viable. In this context, I initiated a major re-organisation of the Defence Forces encompassing the consolidation of three under-strength Army Brigades into two full strength Brigades. This was to ensure that within the revised strength ceiling, the operational effectiveness of the Permanent Defence Force was optimised in order to fulfil all roles assigned by Government.

Key aspects of the reorganisation included the consolidation of under-strength units into a smaller number of full strength Units, a reduction in the number of headquarters and the associated re-deployment of personnel from administrative and support functions to operational Units.

A new White Paper on Defence is due to be completed and submitted to Government for approval later this year. Work on the new White Paper on Defence is progressing well. Having regard to the inputs received from a wide variety of stakeholders, Working Groups comprising of civil and military representatives are considering future operational demands and the defence capabilities required to meet projected future operational requirements. This work will underpin recommendations regarding defence provision for the next decade.

Capability decisions contained in the White Paper must be based on a careful assessment of the Defence and Security environment, have regard to future operational requirements and the roles that the Defence Forces will be required to undertake, and have regard also to the resource envelope. While I do not intend to pre-empt or second guess the outcome of the White Paper, there will undoubtedly be challenges with regard to future demands and available resources. In this context, it is essential that any recommendations are linked to explicit future capability requirements. The current organisational structures have allowed the Defence Forces to fulfil all operational requirements within the available resource envelope. This will remain a key focus for the White Paper.

Question No. 17 answered with Question No. 9.
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