White Paper sets out challenging vision for the Defence Forces

The White Paper on Defence sets out a positive and developmental approach to defence in Ireland for the next 10 years. It involves a new £250 million investment programme in equipment and infrastructure. This will ensure that we have a modern and sustainable defence organisation with the depth and flexibility to respond to future demands.

In preparing the White Paper on Defence, the Government had the choice of publishing a fairly bland and unchallenging vision of defence for the next decade. Some would have seen this as the easiest course to take. However, it would have done a grave disservice to this State and to those who have served in the defence community since its foundation.

As the White Paper states, defence is an expression of sovereignty. Accordingly, as Minister for Defence I decided that the White Paper should address the fundamental issues central to building a world-class military organisation. I also decided policies should be based on a realistic and grounded assessment of the defence and security environment in the context of the likely financial resources available. The White Paper has achieved these objectives.

My aim was to ensure that Ireland's defence arrangements were realistic, affordable and sustainable. The White Paper achieves this and, I believe, provides a model of sectoral management which could be copied elsewhere.

In the past, defence has been dogged by the absence of a sustained investment programme. There was the occasional fillip as a crisis response to individual situations. I was determined that the White Paper should ensure a sustainable balance between pay and non-pay expenditure.

We will now have this through the retention of 100 per cent of the pay savings achieved through a modest reduction of the order of 6 per cent of the maximum authorised strength. The investment programme is being further bolstered by the reinvestment of 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of surplus properties.

There was a certain amount of confusion about proposals for the strength of the Permanent Defence Force. The maximum authorised strength of the Permanent Defence Force is being reduced from 11,500 to 10,500 with the option of an additional 250 recruits in training. The White Paper indicates, as a point of reassurance to personnel, that there should be no further review of personnel strength in the 10-year lifetime of the paper.

The current strength is, in fact, around 10,900 so the actual reduction is less severe than it sounds. Moreover, a reduction in the authorised strength releases payroll savings. We can draw upon these to ensure that the Defence Forces have the modern equipment that they need.

The White Paper also recognises that a career for men and women in the Defence Forces should be rewarding. The White Paper sets out an action agenda covering a range of measures in the personnel area; these include recruitment, promotion, training, mobility and retirement arrangements. An important element of the new Defence Forces is the policy of continuous recruitment. I introduced this concept a couple of years ago. My recent announcement of a plan to recruit 750 personnel this year for the Defence Forces is the latest demonstration of this commitment.

We have seen how quickly the defence and security environment has evolved since the end of the Cold War. The White Paper sets out the following overall defence policy requirements:

To maintain a military force structure that provides a basis for responding to any major change in Ireland's strategic circumstances in the medium to long term, as well as demonstrating an appropriate commitment to national defence.

To maintain a military force structure capable of responding to requests to provide aid to the civil power and, in that context, contributing to the prevention of security challenges from abroad, including terrorism and arms smuggling.

To fulfil Ireland's international and regional responsibilities arising from membership of the United Nations by providing a range of military capabilities that can effectively be employed to participate in a broad range of multinational peace-support and humanitarian relief operations.

To demonstrate Ireland's commitment to European security by having a suitable range of military capabilities that can be used to make appropriate contributions to regional security missions authorised by the UN.

Ireland has a practical as well as a principled interest in the maintenance of international peace and security in Europe and farther afield. Our defence policy will seek to reflect this strategic interest. Ireland's commitment to collective security is pursued through the UN. The White Paper describes the changing nature of overseas peace-support missions. These demonstrate a greater emphasis on deploy-ability, sustainability, interoperability, flexibility, mobility, survivability and command and control. When we commit our troops abroad we must be sure that they have the training and equipment appropriate to the mission.

The missions of the future will demand a range of new capabilities. In particular, the Defence Forces must have the training and equipment to integrate as seamlessly as possible into multinational peace support operations dominated by contingents with highly capable and technologically advanced forces. The purchase of new armoured personnel carriers, at a cost of some £40 million, along with the provision of world-class radio, night vision, personal weapons and uniforms are all necessary steps on the road to building a world-class organisation.

The recent security challenges on or close to the borders of the European Union have underlined the need to develop approaches which meet all of the concerns of EU states.

Proposals for the development of European military forces which would be available to the EU to undertake Petersberg operations (humanitarian, rescue, peacekeeping and crisis management activities) are indicative of the recognition of both the indivisibility of European security and the need for a collective response by Europeans to these challenges. The evolution of Ireland's approach to the development of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy is, of course, a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Government. As Minister for Defence it is my job to ensure that any defence contribution is appropriate having regard to the full range of defence commitments.

Ireland's decision to join Partnership for Peace (PfP) will enhance our capacity to contribute to overseas peace-support operations. Participation in PfP does not affect Ireland's long-standing policy of military neutrality nor is PfP in conflict with our traditional support for UN peacekeeping operations. PfP will be of value to Ireland in co-operation and planning for Petersberg tasks.

Ireland's participation in NATO-led UN-mandated forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo are examples of the type of situations in which Ireland can benefit from participation in PfP because much of the preparation and training for these new-style peace support missions is undertaken by countries under the auspices of PfP.

In addition to conventional peace support operations the Defence Forces have participated in a range of humanitarian tasks overseas which go hand in hand with military tasks in many crisis situations. In Lebanon, for example, the Defence Forces have for many years given assistance, such as support for a local orphanage and the provision of medical clinics.

Other humanitarian assistance has included the evacuation of and shelter for people during hostilities and assistance with saving harvests. In addition, Defence Forces personnel, on secondment to non-governmental organisations, have made important contributions to dealing with humanitarian crises, for example, in the aftermath of the hurricane in Honduras in 1999.

The situation in Lebanon is likely to see some changes with the declared intention of Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon by July this year. Ireland has sent peacekeepers to Lebanon since 1978. We hope that we are close to seeing the development of a lasting peace. The White Paper sets out a range of more detailed policies which make up the 10-year strategy. The Naval Service is being developed around the provision of an eight-vessel flotilla. Now larger than at any time in our history, the Naval Service has for the first time a commitment to vessel replacement as this falls due.

This process has already begun with the decision to purchase a second new state-of-the-art offshore patrol vessel similar to the LE Roisin at a cost of £20 million. Air Corps capabilities will be augmented through a special £55 million investment programme over the next three years, with new helicopters being given special priority. Both the Air Corps and the Naval Service will have new organisational structures aimed at increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

The Reserve Defence Force and Civil Defence are also benefiting from developments under the White Paper with additional resources for training and equipment. I believe very strongly in the wider social benefits which can be obtained by service to the community through the periods of service given by the young men, and increasingly women, of the Reserve. The traditional spirit of voluntary service will be built upon. Furthermore, members of the Reserve, subject to meeting appropriate training and other standards, will have the opportunity to serve overseas.

Civil Defence is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and a number of special events are planned to mark the occasion. This year will see an increase in the financial allocation for Civil Defence which will be maintained in future years. I have also been delighted to announce in the White Paper the planned relocation of the Civil Defence branch of the Department of Defence to Roscrea as part of the Government's overall plan for decentralisation of public services from Dublin.

The White Paper on Defence provides a strong vision for the future which is realistic, and strategic. It provides a sustainable and flexible approach to the provision of the State's defence and will ensure that the Defence Forces will continue to be developed as a world-class organisation in which people are proud to serve and of which the nation can continue to be proud.

I invite people to read and consider the White Paper on Defence carefully. I believe that those who do so will agree that the White Paper strategy will ensure that Ireland is capable of meeting the defence challenges of the future

Michael Smith is Minister for Defence.

The text of the White Paper is available on the Department of Defence website: www.irlgov.ie/defence/ whitepaper.htm or through the Stationery Office