It is a revise to the extent that if the recruits come in we will still be entitled to go up to the highest figure but we are satisfied at the present time that we probably will not be able to get that number. If the Deputy looks at page 328 he will see a note:—
"Deduct in respect of numbers being below strength during the financial year."
In addition to Army personnel proper, the Estimate also provides for:—Chaplains, 19; cadets, 138; nurses, 118; total, 275.
So far I have dealt only with the permanent force, with their auxiliaries —chaplains, nurses and cadets. Turning to the First Line Reserve which has now absorbed the old Class A, Class B, the Volunteer Force, and the Reserve of Officers, we are providing for a strength of 694 officers and 5,056 other ranks. That is roughly about the present strength of this arm of the service, so that, in effect, it is assumed that during the year any increase will be balanced by wastage due to discharges, etc.
The Second Line Reserve constituted mainly by An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil contemplates a strength of about 60,000 during the year. The present strength is 41,463. In October, 1946, when the old L.D.F. had been absorbed and we began to concentrate on recruits for the F.C.A. proper, the strength stood at 37,380, so that during the last four or five months about 4,000 have joined this force. There seems no reason to believe that this force will lose its attraction and we are, therefore, budgeting on getting about 1,000 recruits a month during the financial year. In addition, it is hoped in the near future to organise a Second Line Reserve for our naval service, and in framing the Estimate due consideration has been given to that proposal.
Having thus briefly outlined the numbers of each arm which it is proposed to maintain during the coming year, I come to the question of cost. Taking the permanent force first, the Estimate provides for direct pay and insurance alone the sum of £1,469,656 in the six sub-heads A, D, E, P (2), S (2) and W, so that this direct element alone absorbs nearly £1,500,000 of the Vote. To this must be added the cost of such direct cash allowances as marriage allowance, or its counterpart in the case of officers, lodging, fuel and light allowances, ration allowance and clothing allowance. These are provided for in sub-heads B, G, K, and M, and amount to £576,890. Again, where allowances in cash are not drawn, allowances in kind are issued or issuable. These include such items as rations, fuel, medicines and barrack services, and over the nine sub-heads F, H, I, K, M, R, V, V (1) and X (2), they amount to £635,313. These allowances, whether issued in cash or kind, are as much part of a soldier's emoluments as is direct pay and they must, therefore, be taken into consideration in making out the cost of the soldier, and, as has just been shown, that cost to the State in the present year is £2,681,859. In this connection it must be pointed out that during the past year all ranks of the Army have received a substantial increase both in pay and allowances. In pay alone, there has been an average increase over all ranks of about 23 per cent. which accounts for an increase of £339,288 over comparable figures in last year's Estimate. In direct cash allowances there has been an average increase of about 7 per cent. which accounts for another comparable increase of £35,746, and in allowances in kind the figure is over 3 per cent., accounting for an increase of £11,333. Hence, the total comparable increase over last year's Estimate, following increases in pay and allowances, is £386,367.
The cost of the First Line Reserve (sub-head Y (2)) is approximately £137,793, made up as follows:—
|
£
|
Personal grants
|
75,169
|
Pay
|
27,561
|
Cash allowances
|
23,994
|
Allowances in kind
|
10,864
|
Other services
|
205
|
Total
|
£137,793
|
|
|
Under the pay and allowances heading, we are providing 21 days' training for all officers and for non-commissioned officers above the rank of sergeant, and for 14 days for all others. In the figure of £137,793, it is being assumed that about 600 officers and 4,000 other ranks will attend for training. The increase in pay and allowances is again reflected in this sub-head to the extent of about £8,703.
The cost of the Second Line Reserve, mainly F.C.A., is estimated at £400,997, and includes:—
|
£
|
Grants-in-Aid
|
60,000
|
Pay
|
79,535
|
Cash allowances
|
4,612
|
Allowances in kind
|
241,700
|
Hire of halls
|
15,000
|
Other services
|
150
|
Total
|
£400,997
|
|
|
As regards Grants-in-Aid, it is anticipated that about £55,000 will be payable in 1948 in respect of members on the effective list on 31st December, 1947, and that the remaining £5,000 will be required for quarterly payments for recruits joining during 1947. As regards training during which pay and allowances are issuable, it is expected that about 30,000 will be able to attend. The increase in Army pay and allowances has increased this sub-head by about £22,036.
As regards the civilian staff of the Department, the total provided by the Estimate is 2,077, of which 1,376 are attached to units in trades or other capacities, 35 are engaged in Cork Harbour on transport vessels, nine are employed as herds or caretakers, and 657 are civil servants, both permanent and temporary, in the Department. Their total cost under sub-heads C, S (1), T, and Y is £542,170, of which about £42,774 is directly attributable to the consolidation of pay and bonus and the increase in emergency bonus.
Turning from questions of personnel to that of stores, I should mention that the latter are of two distinct types —those of a warlike nature such as guns, ammunition, aircraft and war vessels, and those destined for ordinary use and maintenance, such as medical equipment, mechanical transport, petrol and oils, animals and forage, workshop tools and equipment, engineers' tools and barrack maintenance, including minor new works. The Estimate provides £406,446 for such ordinary stores. For warlike stores it provides a total of £326,810, of which £200,000 is for the purchase of three additional corvettes, £31,400 for aircraft and £95,410 for battalion equipment, ammunition and maintenance.
The remaining items covered by the Vote may be described as incidental services and comprise:—
|
sub-head
|
£
|
Educational courses
|
A (1)
|
5,000
|
Equitation expenses
|
A (3)
|
5,000
|
Civil aviation
|
O (1)
|
500
|
Rents of lands
|
T (2)
|
2,666
|
Compensation
|
U
|
6,150
|
Telegrams and tele- phones
|
X (1)
|
29,150
|
Offences against the
|
|
|
State Acts
|
A A
|
2,414
|
Medals
|
B B
|
15,000
|
Miscellaneous items
|
X
|
2,160
|
|
Total
|
£68,040
|
|
|
|
Under sub-head P (1), air-raid precautions, there is a sum of £15,940. This is entirely a relic of the emergency. No less than £14,685 represents outstanding claims which will, it is expected, fall for payment during the year, and the balance, £1,255, is for the maintenance of existing equipment.
Another item from the emergency is found in sub-head A (4), which provides £50,005 for gratuities payable in respect of service rendered during the emergency. This problem is now for all practical purposes at an end, but allowance must be made for late claims and the £50,005 provided should cover all requirements during the financial year. In this connection it may be of interest to mention that up to the end of February, 1947, the Department had dealt with 45,144 claims—these comprised 1,760 officers, 39,238 other ranks, 554 deceased cases and 3,592 applications which were ineligible. The total amount expended in emergency gratuities to the same date was £2,900,614. Sub-head A (4) also includes a token sum for £5 for re-enlistment bounties to meet any outstanding claims, and sub-head A (2) provides £100 for resignation, retirement or discharge gratuities payable under Defence Force regulations as distinct from gratuities payable under the Defence Force Pensions (Amendment) Schemes.
Summarising what has been said, the Estimate is thus seen to cover the following numbers:—Permanent Force, 11,397 all ranks; First Line Reserve, 5,750 all ranks; Second Line Reserve, 60,000 all ranks; civilians, 2,077, making a total of 79,224.
As regards cost, the Estimate can be summarised thus:—Cost of Permanent Force, £2,681,859, or 58 per cent. of the Vote; cost of First Line Reserve, £137,793 or 3 per cent. of the Vote; cost of Second Line Reserve, £400,997 or 8 per cent. of the Vote; cost of civilians, £542,170 or 12 per cent. of the Vote; ordinary stores, £406,446 or 9 per cent. of the Vote; warlike stores, £326,810 or 7 per cent. of the Vote; incidental services, £68,040 or 1.5 per cent. of the Vote; A.R.P., £15,940 or .5 per cent. of the Vote; gratuities, £50,110 or 1 per cent. of the Vote, making a total of £4,630,165.
During the past six months, 4,623 young men have presented themselves for recruitment but, of that number, 1,247 have been rejected on medical and a further 534 on educational grounds, giving a net intake of about 61 per cent. It may be said that our physical and educational standards are too high, but what we are aiming to secure is a first class recruit who in a few years' time will become a competent non-commissioned officer. The training done at our recruit depot is of a varied and intensive type, and I am assured that our standards are at least as high as those prevailing elsewhere. An interesting sidelight in our physical training methods is cast by the fact that over a period of six months the average gain in height of our recruits is ¼ inch, chest expansion ¾ inch, and weight 7 lbs. While we are doing our best to make recruits first class soldiers, we are at the same time doing our utmost to make the Army an agreeable and attractive occupation. To that end, we have already substantially increased the rates of pay and allowances; in sub-head M of the present Estimate provision has been made for a new walking-out uniform; in sub-head V we have provided for a new type of bed and wardrobe; and in sub-head S there is provision for the improved sanitation of certain barracks, for the erection of hand-ball alleys, and for the remodelling both of officers' and soldiers' quarters. It must be realised that nearly all our barracks are old and, indeed, out of date, and that if we are to have contented soldiers, we must give them the ordinary modern amenities of accommodation and living. I should like to press on at once with the remodelling of our barracks but, the supply of materials being what it is, we can make very little progress at present.
Deputies will observe that in the matter of warlike stores, the amount devoted to their purchase is only a small percentage of the total Estimate. The reason for this is that like other countries we are relying for the present on the latest type of weapons which were purchased during the emergency. It would be unwise to do otherwise, because we do not know yet what new weapons may be devised through the scientific research into arms. Our policy in the future, as it has always been in the past, will be to await developments, and then to purchase the best available to ensure that what we buy is most useful for our needs and within our financial resources.
During the past year we have purchased 3 corvettes for our Naval Service and provision is made in the present Estimate for three more such vessels. A corvette is a small type of destroyer, about 950 tons, with a displacement of 1,280 tons, carrying a complement of four officers, one warrant officer and 43 naval ratings. Its maximum speed is about 18, but its ordinary cruising speed is about 14 knots. The ships which we have acquired are fitted with the very latest type of equipment. They carry, for instance, the most modern radar and asdic devices, together with echosounding gear for determining depth, oropesa for mine-sweeping and the very rare and modern gyroscope compass. Their armament consists of one 4" gun, one 2 pounder, two oerlikon guns, and six depth charges. These vessels will be used not only for the defence of our coasts in an emergency but for the protection of our fisheries in peace.
The other modern warlike weapon, the development of which we are following with close attention, is aircraft. During the past year, four new Seafires and two Martinet towers have been purchased in addition to 12 reconditioned Magisters for training purposes. We expect four more Sea-fires before 31st March, 1947, and the present Estimate contains, under sub-head O, a provision of £31,400 for another four similar aircraft with miscellaneous spares.
The Army is, of course, primarily a military and warlike service but, nevertheless, it is not without its civilian use. During the past year, the Army gave its help ungrudgingly in saving the harvest, and for the 34 days on which it carried out such operations, it worked a total of 51,434 men days and carried 13,000 civilians in 580 vehicles. Again, during the recent blizzards when communication between Dublin and the South of Ireland was completely interrupted, the Army radio network was used to maintain essential services, and the Signal Corps helped in Dublin to restore some of the 5,000 telephone lines which were put out of action.
The total gross Estimate, as we have seen, is £4,630,165, but we hope to realise Appropriations-in-Aid of the Vote to the extent of £210,775. The net sum, therefore, which I am asking the Dáil to vote is £4,419,390, which is a decrease of £716,540 on the Estimate for 1946-47.