Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2024
141. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the status of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces to establish an office of veterans' affairs; the funding that has been budgeted for this purpose for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2214/24]
View answerThe establishment of an Office of Veterans Affairs, under new Defence Forces structures, was one of 130 recommendations included in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces which was published on 9th of February 2022.
Following detailed consideration by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces of the recommendations in the report, a High Level Action Plan and a Memorandum for Government were brought to Government and approved on 12th of July 2022. The High Level Action Plan set out the response of Government in relation to each of the 130 individual recommendations: Accept, Accept in Principle, Further Evaluation or Revert. The recommendation to establish an Office of Veterans Affairs was accepted in principle, meaning that further consideration is required on the optimal approach to meeting the intent of the Commission.
A detailed implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces was published on 21st of November 2023. The plan sets out how the implementation of this recommendation will be progressed and the proposed timeframe.
