Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 October 2025
15. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the progress made on each action listed in the Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52266/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the 9th of February 2022. There were 130 recommendations in total, comprising 69 main recommendations, with 61 further sub recommendations. The Commission recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covered high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.
Given the significant recommendations contained in the Report, detailed consideration of these recommendations was undertaken with a High Level Action Plan (HLAP) and a Memo for Government brought to Government and approved on July 12th 2022. This involved the approval of a move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2) by 2028, as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces. This will result in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.7billion, as per capital allocation under the National Development Plan (2026–2030), the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the Commission.
The Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, was published on 21 November 2023. 43 of the Commission's recommendations are now fully implemented, with many more nearing completion. An update to the Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces is currently being finalised. It is my intention to publish the update to the plan in the coming weeks.
The detailed information sought by the Deputy is not readily available within the required time frame in tabular form. Officials in my Department are collating this information currently for the upcoming publication of the Update to the Detailed Implementation Plan. I will arrange to have this information forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
