Funds threat to Defence Forces

THE prospects for the Defence Forces next year look very bleak if funding cuts of recent years continue, the Chief of Staff warned.

Spending has been stagnant and the Defence Forces can no longer depend on money from the sale of military barracks and property, said Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan.

Lt Gen Sreenan said he has lobbied for an increase in Defence Force spending. He said Defence Minister Michael Smith has indicated he will mount a serious campaign at Government level before the estimates are drawn up.

Spending on the Defence Forces as a percentage of GNP and the Government budget has dropped significantly in the last decade. It has remained at 0.8% of GNP €703m last year for five years.

While the operational ability of forces here and the many abroad is not expected to be affected in the short term, the spending freeze could impact on major procurements that have to be phased in over a number of years.

Lt Gen Sreenan, in an interview with Signal, the officers' magazine, said: "The 0.8% allocated to us for this year includes the last of the proceeds from the property. It's also worth mentioning that 10 years ago we were allocated 1.6% of GNP.

The Chief of Staff said he was confident the campaign for more funds will be successful.

While the Department of Defence returned €20m to the Exchequer last year, much of that extra cash came from over-estimating the amount that was expected to be paid in deafness compensation.

Over €700m has been allocated for defence this year. However, the percentage spend of the Government budget has dropped by nearly a half over the last 10 years, from over 4% in 1992 to 2.28% last year.

Over 10,000 men and women are serving in the Defence Forces, with more than 800 deployed overseas.

The largest missions are in Liberia and Kosovo.

Lt Gen Sreenan has also revealed a root and branch reform of the Defence Forces medical services.

There are huge problems attracting full-time medical personnel to the services, to the point where two agency doctors are currently serving in Liberia.

Describing the state of the services as critical, Lt Gen Sreenan envisages a very different medical corps: young doctors deployed on exercises at home and for longer on operations abroad, contracts with local ground practices, and part-time doctors working for a local hospital or GP and the Defence Forces.