Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 2

Written Answers. - White Paper on Defence.

Alan M. Dukes

Ceist:

71 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Defence the measures, if any, he proposes to adopt to ensure comprehensive consultation on the development of the White Paper on Defence, both within the Defence Forces and with the general public; the proposed timetable in this regard [12974/98]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

The Government considered my proposals for the preparation of the proposed White Paper on Defence in late July and approved the following objectives for the White Paper: to provide a medium term policy framework within which defence policy can evolve to set out a clear strategy for the next ten years; to provide a framework to include the input of the Minister for Foreign Affairs deriving from the overall international security context and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform with regard to the national security environment; to provide for the continuation of the reform programme, already commenced under the Defence Forces review implementation plan, of defence services especially in relation to the future size, configuration, deployment and resourcing — financial, infrastructural and equipment — of the Defence Forces consistent with the national and international security environment and the state of the public finances; to ensure that the ongoing development of the management of defence services is in accordance with the evolution of the strategic management initiative centrally; and to provide a medium term programme for the evolution of civil defence policy and as a follow-up to the present Towards 2000 strategy.

The necessary work required by the Government's decision on the White Paper is proceeding. This is based on the work of my own Department, civil and military, as well as appropriate inputs from other Ministers, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

In mid-August, notices were placed in the national daily newspapers inviting submissions on any or all aspects of the White Paper from interested individuals and organisations, with a closing date of 16 October. In cases where an individual or organisation has indicated to me that preparation of a submission is well in hand, I am prepared to accept these up to the end of this month. When all submissions received have been considered, arrangements will be made to meet key stakeholders, such as the Defence Forces representative associations.

As this is the first White Paper of its kind, I have made it clear from the outset that adequate time should be provided for its preparation. I wish to ensure that all issues raised are reflected upon adequately. The timetable for this work is provisional but I would see the ongoing consultations being undertaken over the coming months with the intention of being in a position to put a draft for consideration by the Government by the summer of next year.

In the meantime, important decisions in the defence area are proceeding in relation to. for example, barracks rationalisation, the ongoing reorganisation of the Defence Forces under the Defence Forces review implementation plan, the Air Corps and Naval Service reviews and, of course, the need to tackle the hearing loss compensation issue.