Defence Forces to hire 6,000 extra troops as budget to reach €1.9bn by 2028

Ireland’s annual defence budget is forecast to reach at least €1.9 billion by 2028 under plans for the largest military investment in the history of the State.

This would allow for the recruitment about 6,000 extra troops to the permanent and reserve Defence Forces, the purchase of new military equipment and the acquisition of a radar system to detect airborne threats.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney on Wednesday announced details of an action plan to implement recommendations made by the Commission on the Defence Forces, which reported in February that Ireland’s military is not equipped to perform its tasks.

The plan, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, commits to implementing 79 per cent of the report’s 130 recommendations.

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The commission sets out three “levels of ambition” (LOA) ranging from keeping defence spending static at about €1.1 billion a year, raising it by about 50 per cent or tripling it to €3 billion to bring Irish investment in line with that of other small European countries.

The plan commits to the second proposal, LOA 2, to increase spending to €1.5 billion. This will take place by 2028, two years earlier than suggested in the report. It is understood there were disagreements between defence and finance officials over whether this increase should be linked to inflation. In the end, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform agreed inflation would be taken into account.

Mr Coveney explained that this means the actual costs of the plan is likely to reach at least €800 million by 2028, once inflation in military expenditure is taken into account, bringing the defence budget up to €1.9 billion. This is based on a “very conservative” assumption of 4 per cent in military expenditure inflation, he said.

Reaching LOA 2 by 2028 would give future governments the option of increasing funding further to LOA 3, which would include the purchase of additional military equipment including a squadron of fighter jets, the Minister said.

Mr Coveney described it as the biggest investment in defence in the history of the State.

“I have full confidence that the sector will undergo a renaissance to provide Ireland with a real and credible defence infrastructure to underscore our commitments as a State to peace and security, both at home and abroad,” he said.

The plans include an increase in the Defence Forces establishment from 9,500 to 11,500 personnel. The organisation is currently 1,000 people below its existing establishment. It would also involve the “revitalisation” of the reserve Defence Forces involving the recruitment of 3,000 personnel.

The plan, Mr Coveney said, commits the Government to recruiting an extra 6,000 troops, including increasing permanent Defence Forces numbers by 35 per cent. It hopes to do this in part by increasing allowances for the lowest-paid members of the Defence Forces and simplifying the allowance system. Officers will not be included in the increases, a move which has drawn strong criticism from the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers.

The Taoiseach said the Government had decided that defence reform was essential and “we’re absolutely determined that this investment will be delivered”.

Mr Coveney said he could not say if future governments would stick to the spending plan but that funding certainty was “essential” for defence planning as procurement for related equipment “takes years, not months, to deliver”.

Some of the commission’s recommendations are to be implemented within the next six months, including increases to allowances and the appointment of a gender adviser. Much of the plan’s focus is on increasing the size and role of the reserve so that it will be integrated in military planning and available for deployment overseas.

It will also see the creation of a 100-person “Joint Cyber Defence Command” and the renaming of the Army Ranger Wing as IRL SOF. Under the plan, IRL SOF would have maritime and airborne subsections based in Dublin and Cork

It commits in principle to accelerating the programme of replacing Naval Service ships with the aim of having a nine-ship navy by the early 2030s. Each of these ships would be double crewed to ensure they can spend a minimum of 220 days at sea per year. New armoured personnel carriers with increased firepower and better armour would be acquired, as would helicopters and a long-range aircraft.