Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 June 2014
25. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Defence the measures that will be taken to alleviate the pressures on members of the Defence Forces based in County Donegal having to travel to Dublin regularly for constant duties, administration runs, guards of honour and other various trips; and if these arrangements are the most efficient use of resources in terms of personnel and vehicle deployments as well as financial resources. [25791/14]
View answerThe re-organisation of the Defence Forces, finalised in October 2012, has resulted in a fundamental re-structuring of Army Formations and Units across the country including the closure of a number of operational posts. This was undertaken in order to enhance operational readiness and deployability whilst reducing numbers involved in administration. This re-organisation led to a re-configuration of the Defence Forces operational processes from a garrison-based system to a more flexible, deployable system that makes more efficient use of all resources, including financial. Units and personnel can be temporarily re-deployed across areas of operations to meet specific security taskings and framework operations as required by the military authorities.
I have been advised by the military authorities that, for the most part, personnel are only deployed within their own Brigade area. However, on occasion personnel from Donegal for example, have been redeployed for security operations to other locations, including Dublin which is a key centre for large scale operations and ceremonial activity for the Defence Forces. It is important that military personnel have experience of the full range of duties of being part of a military force. This requires their deployment to locations where they can gain that experience.
It is essential that the military authorities have the capacity to deploy appropriate forces to wherever required in order to meet security and other taskings and it is my intention to retain this flexibility within the Defence Forces.
