Brendan Smith urges swift implementation of Defence Commission

Thank you very much, O'Kahirle. Minister, I welcome the fact that you establish within a short time frame the Commission on the Defence Forces following the commitment made in the Programme for Government. You might give us an outline of when you expect the Commission to report and hopefully you will be able to give us a commitment that the recommendation to be put forward in that Commission will be implemented by Government within a set time frame. Thank you, O'Kahirle. Thank you, O'Kahirle. Thank you. And I will take PQ's 90 and 106 together. The Programme for Government committed to an independent Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the Defence Forces. This independent Commission on the Defence Forces was subsequently established by the Government in December 2020 with a mandate to report within 12 months. The Government also approved the terms of reference based on the Programme for Government and the membership of the Commission. The Commission's overall approach will be guided and informed by both the White Paper on Defence in 2015 and the White Paper update in 2019. The work of the Commission will inform the future development of the Defence Forces and encompass the following matters. Structures and size of the Defence Forces, encompassing consideration of appropriate capabilities, structures and staffing. Leveraging the capabilities of the Reserve Defence Force in their support of the permanent Defence Forces and make service of the RDF more attractive. Governance and high-level command and control structures in the Defence Forces, the evolution of remuneration systems and structures in the Defence Forces, a strategic perspective on HR policies and associated strategies, recruitment, retention and career progression. As part of a broad consultation process, the Commission invited submissions from individuals and organisations on matters relating to its terms of reference. The Commission received over 500 submissions, all of which have been published on their website, together with the initial report on the public consultation. The Commission has been established as an independent body, and while it is a matter entirely for the Commission, I understand that the Commission has met with a broad stakeholder group, including the Defence Forces representative associations, commissioned and enlisted members of the Defence Forces, senior officials and personnel from my department, and the Defence Forces, as well as other groups. The Commission's site visits to military locations by members of the Commission have taken place at a number of barracks across the country. The Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll, also met with members of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in April to discuss the ongoing work of the Commission. The Commission, in conjunction with the Institute of International and European Affairs, hosted their second webinar, The Future of Defence 2030 and Beyond, on Tuesday 7th September, which featured a range of international expert speakers. The establishment of an independent Commission on the future of Defence Forces underpins the Government commitment to ensure that the Defence Forces are fit for purpose, both in terms of meeting immediate requirements and also in terms of seeking to develop a longer-term vision beyond 2030. The Commission is to submit their report by the end of the year, and it will be considered fully at that time by Government. The Minister, I am very glad that the capacity and capability of the Reserve Defence Forces was included in the Commission's remit, because often times over the years, the very good work of the Reserve Defence Forces has never been given the recognition that it should, and it is an issue I have raised in this House on many occasions. During the course of the last Dáil on many occasions, both here in the plenary session and at committees, we discussed the pay and conditions and the problems with retaining personnel in our permanent Defence Forces. I sincerely hope the pay and conditions would be adequately addressed and also retention policies. Minister, could you indicate if the Commission has any remit in examining the work of the Department of Defence vis-à-vis its relationship with the Defence Forces? I gather at times that that can often be robust. Maybe it is a good thing that it should be robust between the two of them. Whether it is the best working relationship or not, I do not know. I would sincerely hope that if there are issues in relation to the Department, as it affects the workings of the Defence Forces on an ongoing basis, if they would be considered in the context of the Commission's work as well. Thank you, Deputy Minister. On the last question, Deputy, there is a governance and high-level command and control structures in the Defence Forces discussion within the remit. That involves, to a limited extent, the relationship with the Department of Defence. I know that the former Chief of Staff and the Secretary-General of the Department have been working on an agreed approach towards that issue and have fed that into the Commission's work, which I think is understood by the Chair of the Commission. So that has been work that has been ongoing for quite a number of months now. Also, in parallel with the Commission's work, there is a review of the Department of Defence taking place in terms of a civil service review that takes place of government departments. And I think it is appropriate that we are reviewing the functioning and running of the Department of Defence at the same time as an independent Commission is looking at the future of the Defence Forces. Thank you, Minister. So, and just on the Reserve, if I may, I mean, members will be interested to know, I am sure, that we are progressing the defence legislation at the moment in the Shannon, that actually will remove the barrier to the Reserve Defence Forces serving overseas. And I think that, I hope, is a signal to the Reserve Defence Forces that we very much value the work they do and we want to expand their role rather than the opposite in the future. Thank you, Minister. Minister, I have one particular regret in regard to the composition of the membership of the Commission. I had argued in this House, before it was established, that it should include a person who had extensive experience in the border region during that awful era, when our permanent defence forces and our Gardaí and other emergency services had to deal with thugs, criminals, paramilitaries and murderers, and they kept our state safe. I believe that a person who had extensive experience as a senior officer in the border region during that era should have been included in the Commission. And I think that valuable knowledge and experience of the border would be particularly important. Minister, I had the opportunity to visit some of the barracks and the accommodation around the country. I recall a visit to the Curragh some years ago. Some of the living accommodation for our young recruits was just awful. And I know there is poor accommodation in some other barracks. I would like a commitment that accommodation would be modernised and up to proper standards. Today, most people who joined the army, thankfully, are coming from homes where there is good accommodation. Sadly, everybody is not. But the vast majority of people are living in good housing. So when they go and enlist to serve our country, they should be living in modern, proper accommodation. Thank you. One minute to conclude. Can I again remind people to please try and stick to the times? It is unfair on your colleagues. Yes. I mean, on accommodation, Deputy, we are investing in accommodation. In fact, we have invested in accommodation in the Curragh in recent years. And I have been there to visit the upgraded accommodation in the last 18 months or so, or in the last year, I think. And we will continue to do that under the capital investment programme that is being rolled out. I take your point in relation to the border issues and ensuring that there is a knowledge of the challenges that come with the history of the border in the context of the Defence Forces. I mean, I would say that we have a former Chief of Staff on the Commission. And, of course, the Chair of the Commission was the Secretary General in the Department of Justice for a period of time when an awful lot of reform happened. So there is no shortage of experience on the Commission, I can tell you. Either military experience or indeed HR experience or broader management experience. It is a large group of people, probably slightly larger than I would have liked, actually. But we wanted to get all of the skill sets onto that Commission. Thank you, Minister. But I am confident that they are more than qualified to make informed and ambitious recommendations. Thank you, Minister.