National Development Plan allocates almost €4bn for defence and justice capital spends

Major capital projects include three C295 surveillance aircrafts (third due in September), a refit of 80 Mowag armoured personnel carriers, and an expansion of the naval fleet to nine ships by early in the next decade. File Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin.

Capital spend on defence is set to total €1.7bn over the next five years under the National Development Plan (NDP), with justice due to get a total capital budget of €2.18bn.

The total allocation for the Department of Defence between 2026-2030 compares to €697m in the five years 2021 to 2025 — an increase of 144%, excluding inflation.