An overall staffing level of 10,500 for the Defence Forces is one of the main recommendations in the White Paper on Defence. The document, which sets out a strategy up to 2010, will produce one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of the Defence Forces.
The White Paper, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times, says the 10,500 level will be reached by the end of 2001 and the resulting savings, estimated at £25 million a year, "will be fully reinvested in the Defence Forces".
The Army will be required to make the largest adjustment in staff numbers, although the document forecasts that in light of future developments there will be "some rebalancing of numbers between the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service".
The present limit on total staffing within the Army, the Naval Service and Aer Corps is 11,500, although numbers have been allowed to fall to 10,900. In setting a lower staffing limit, the White Paper accepts that "existing domestic and international commitments should be capable of being met by fewer personnel". The Government is also to seek to replace certain posts within the military organisation with civilian personnel.
For several months the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, has been battling with the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, over staffing numbers and future funding. The indications are that Mr Smith won the argument on numbers, although investment in equipment will have to be funded from the existing allocations and any cost-savings.
The paper notes that "the achievement of appropriate balance within defence expenditure between the pay and non-pay areas is critical to ensuring a sustainable defence capability". While the pay to non-pay expenditure ratio has improved from around 78:22 in 1996 to 76:24 in 1999, the Government has set a minimum target ratio of 70:30.
The White Paper warns that until such a level has been reached the current deficiencies in equipment cannot be addressed "as quickly or as comprehensively as is desirable".
It also acknowledges that despite regular recruitment, the age profile of Defence Forces personnel "continues to be too high". The Government policy of regular recruitment is set to continue, with the hope that "in time the induction of younger soldiers will make its mark on the overall age profile".
The age profile issue will also be addressed by an updated Defence Forces Personnel Management Plan which is to be prepared as a matter of urgency. The plan will also deal with the "excessive number of personnel who are medically unfit" for a full range of duties.
The White Paper outlines the Government's revised five-point role for the Defence Forces. These are:
to defend the State against armed aggression;
to aid the civil power (the Garda);
to participate in missions mandated by the United Nations in the cause of international peace and security;
to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with the State's obligations as a member of the EU;
to carry out other duties including search and rescue; air ambulance service; ministerial air transport service; assistance in connection with natural disasters.
However, the White Paper acknowledges that "overseas peace support and other operations, largely on UN authorised missions, are the Defence Forces' single biggest operational tasking". The Republic currently offers to provide up to 850 personnel to serve on overseas operations.
While this number is likely to increase, the White Paper notes that the cost of meeting these international obligations "will become more expensive as the UN's capacity to fund such operations diminishes".
The three-brigade structure within the Army will be maintained, although there will be some reorganisation that "will be decided through a planning process on the basis of proposals which the Minister for Defence will instruct the military authorities to bring forward as a matter of urgency".
The White Paper also sets out a strategy for the revitalisation of the Reserve Defence Forces, including the establishment of a new army reserve to replace the FCA. Elements of an army reserve will be integrated with brigades from the Permanent Defence Forces.
The Government has also decided to establish a new standing inter-departmental committee under the aegis of the Department of Defence to ensure the Minister has "the best possible information available to him on current and emerging developments in the security and defence environment". An Assistant Secretary from the Department of Defence will chair this committee, which will have both civilian and military membership.