The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government. The report of the Commission was published on 9th February 2022. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covers high level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.
There are a number of recommendations contained in the report which may impact on the structure of the Defence Forces including that the structure of the Army be reviewed, and in that context, the disposition of Units across the Defence Forces may be considered.
Work on the recommendation that the structure of the Army be reviewed has commenced which looks at the Army Force Design process in order to create a more agile and flexible force design structure. An external consultant has been appointed with Terms of Reference assigned to consider how a future Army Force Design process should be planned and executed to meet current and future operational taskings and other government assigned tasks. Phase one of the Force Design process is scheduled to be completed and submitted to the Chief of Staff for approval by the end of Q4 2023. An Army Force Design Team has also been established with a Colonel Rank in the lead with initial supporting staff appointed and tasked to progress post-phase one planning.
A detailed implementation plan of the next phase of delivering on the transformation recommendations from the Commission on the Defence Forces is expected to be published in October.
There are currently no plans to reopen Dún Uí Néill barracks in Cavan as a military base, and it is currently being used by Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board.
