Spending on the Defence Forces will rise by €93 million to €1.21 billion this year, Oireachtas committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence told
He said that the government had last year agreed to increase defence spending to €1.5 billion by 2028 - in line with the mid-level of the options set out in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. This year, spending on the Defence Forces will rise by €93 million to €1.21 billion, an increase of eight per cent, the Tánaiste told the Committee.
Pay funding in previous years was allocated for a Defence Force strength of 9,500 serving soldiers, sailors and air corps personnel, Mr Martin told the Committee, adding that when pay savings arose, they were used to address spending pressures elsewhere in the Defence Forces. Under the revised estimates process, Mr Martin is seeking a non-pay current allocation of €175 million - an increase of €25 million on 2022. He told the committee this is to provide “mainly for expenditure on on-going and essential Defence Forces standing and operational costs such as utilities, fuel, catering, maintenance, information technology and training”.
He said spending would allow the Defence Forces to meet government commitments on overseas peace missions, where 556 personnel were serving at the start of the year across seven different missions. He reiterated his sympathies to the family and colleagues of Privae Seán Rooney, killed last December while serving with the 121st Infantry Battalion in Lebanon.
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