Peadar Tóibín
Question:128. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence if she will report on the work of the new office of veteran affairs. [71601/25]
View answerTuesday, 16 December 2025
Questions (128)
Written answers
At the outset, I wish to recognise the outstanding contribution made to the State by our ex-service personnel. As a reflection of the deep respect the Government has for our Veterans, the Office of Veterans Affairs was formally established on 10th November 2025.
The intention of the Office is to engage within Government on matters pertaining to veterans. This will have a particular focus on the development of supports for veterans as a group and involve consulting other Government Departments who may be able to contribute to enhancing veterans’ access to benefits. The OVA will play a key role going forward in coordinating matters relating to veterans and understanding the veteran community.
The primary areas of responsibility for the office will be on partnership with the Veterans Associations, advocacy on behalf of veterans as a group, research into the issues affecting veterans and consideration of the issues involved in drafting a Veterans Policy.
The Office will continue to facilitate financial support by way of annual subvention provided by the Department of Defence through ongoing engagement with two recognised Veterans Associations, the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE) and the Irish United Nations Veterans Associations (IUNVA). Under the Service Level Agreements, the subvention currently stands at €173,000 to ONE and €40,000 to IUNVA per annum.
Dormant Accounts funding is also made available to assist both ONE and IUNVA with specific special projects. To date, €1,100,000 in funding has been allotted to the Veterans Associations and further funding will continue to be made available in 2026. I recently had the pleasure of opening a new Veteran Training Centre for IUNVA which was funded in part by Dormant Account Funding and will ensure that Veterans can continue to train and connect after they leave active service.