I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £1,609,300 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1966, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Defence, including certain Services Administered by that Office; for the Pay and Expenses of the Defence Forces; and for payment of a Grant-in-Aid.
When introducing the Estimate for Defence for 1965-1966 on 2nd March, 1965, my predecessor said that if the Cyprus operation should continue into 1965-1966—the then current United Nations mandate was due to expire on 26th March, 1965—additional money would be required for the payment of the allowances associated with overseas service, and that that would also be the case when revised pay scales came into operation for the Defence Forces. There was no provision for these two matters in the Estimate for 1965-1966, so he feared that a substantial Supplementary Estimate would be necessary later in the year.
It is this Supplementary Estimate which I am now introducing, and it is for a sum of £1,609,300. It is attributable mainly to the increases in pay and allowances about which my predecessor spoke, as well as to other increases that have come about since; to the expenses of the Cyprus operation, which has continued, and to an increase in the strength of serving personnel beyond what was provided for in the main Estimate. It would have had to be much greater were it not that substantial savings are being effected in a number of subheads and that appropriations-in-aid are also expected to exceed the original provision.
If I run through the subheads briefly, it may be of assistance to Deputies. The additional sum of £50,000 odd required under Subhead A—Departmental Salaries—is necessitated by salary increases granted for certain Civil Service grades which had not been settled when the main Estimate was prepared. Under Subhead B—Pay of the Permanent Defence Force—an additional sum of £1,687,000 is required. Somewhat more than £1,000,000 of this relates to the pay increases to which I have referred already and to further increases in the pay scales of non-commissioned officers and privates which came into effect last August in connection with a rank and occupation re-classification scheme. There is a sum of £605,000 odd in respect of Cyprus allowances up to 26th March next, when the present mandate expires, and a further £37,000 caused by the fact that, throughout the year, the strength of non-commissioned officers and privates has been running somewhat higher than the 7,000 for which the main Estimate made provision.
There is provision for an additional sum of £198,000 under Subhead C— Allowances of the Permanent Defence Force. Most of this relates to increased marriage allowance and children's allowances associated with the pay increases. A sum of almost £18,000 is required to cover two increases in ration allowance that have occurred during the present financial year and increases in subsistence allowances.
The increase of £97,400 under Subhead D—Pay and Allowances of the Reserve Defence Force—is attributable to the increases in pay and allowances which were granted to members of the Reserve at the same rates as to the Permanent Defence Force. There are small increases in Subheads E and I, but I do not think that I need delay over these. Part III of the Estimate indicates the reason for the increases. Neither is it necessary to comment upon the small increases in Subheads R and V, which again are explained in Part III.
In Subhead X—Incidental Expenses, there is provision for a sum of £19,000 odd to enable ex-gratia refunds to be made to certain health authorities. The circumstances are that, some years ago, our military hospitals were approved by the Minister for Health under section 25 of the Health Act, 1953. By reason of this, my Department was enabled on application to the various health authorities concerned, to be paid a certain daily sum for every eligible patient in a military hospital. One health authority objected to the basis of payment, and after a good deal of consideration, a new system has been worked out with retrospective effect. This will involve refunds to a number of health authorities, and hence the necessity for the sum now sought.
As publicly announced towards the end of November last, the Government decided that a special grant of £10,000 should be made available to the Irish Red Cross Society with a view to enabling the Society to relieve exceptional cases of personal distress due to flooding and storm damage arising from weather conditions during the present winter. The necessary provision is now made in Subhead BB.
It will be seen that expectations by way of appropriations-in-aid are now substantially greater than they were when the main Estimate was being prepared. They result from additional revenue from lands and premises, receipts in respect of the services of personnel in the making of the "Blue Max" film, and receipts from the United Nations in respect of stores losses and certain administrative expenses. These last-mentioned anticipated receipts do not include any refunds of allowances. As Deputies are already aware, the United Nations has accepted responsibility for the refund of overseas and per diem allowances paid to troops serving in Cyprus from 27th June last onwards, but it is not anticipated that any payment under this head will be received until the next financial year.
I do not think that there is any more I need say at this stage. I shall do my best, when concluding, to deal with any points that Deputies may raise and to answer any questions they may ask.
