Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
311. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence if an evaluation has been carried out in respect of potential weaknesses in the Defence Forces with a view to addressing the issues in the short to medium-term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34969/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe White Paper on Defence, approved by Government in July 2015, resulted from a comprehensive examination of Defence requirements. It provides the defence policy framework for the period up to 2025. This policy framework is designed to be flexible and responsive given the dynamic nature of the security environment and enables the Defence Organisation to be adaptive to changing circumstances and to use resources as efficiently as possible.
Within this context, the White Paper contains the Government's decision to put in place a fixed cycle of defence reviews. The first such review, the White Paper on Defence - Update 2019, which was approved by Government, was published in December 2019 and includes an updated assessment of the security environment. Threats in the cyber domain, and from espionage, are assessed as increasing, while the wider political global environment is now more complex and uncertain. Changes since the 2015 White Paper are also addressed, including human resource issues, implementation of commitments made in the White Paper and capability developments.
While the Update acknowledges that there are challenges in certain areas, it affirms the fundamentals of our approach to defence policy that were settled when the White Paper was approved in 2015. The next iteration in the fixed cycle of reviews is to be a Strategic Defence Review.
In order to further consider the medium and longer term defence requirements of the State, a commitment was given in the Programme for Government to establish an Independent Commission on the Defence Forces. This Commission and it's terms of reference were approved by Government in December last year. The Commission subsequently commenced their work and will continue to work throughout 2021 with their report due in December 2021. The Commission will review matters such as the structure of the Defence Forces, pay and allowances structures, recruitment retention and career progression and the contribution of the Reserve Defence Force. The work of the Commission will inform the future development of the Defence Forces.
