55. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if a joint military intelligence service has been established in line with the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [19826/23]

The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the 9th of February 2022. The Commission has undertaken a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommends significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covers high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.

Given the significant recommendations contained in the Report, detailed consideration of these recommendations was undertaken over a period of 5 months by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces. Following this engagement, a High Level Action Plan (HLAP) and a Memo for Government were brought to Government and approved on July 12th 2022.

This involved the approval of a move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces. This will result in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the Commission. The Budget for 2023 included an increase of €67m over the 2022 budget for Defence. This demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to support the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern, agile military force, capable of responding to increasingly complex security threats.

The High Level Action Plan set out a total of 38 early actions to be completed within 6 months of the Government decision. As of the end of March, 80% of these early actions have been achieved. Progress continues on the remaining early actions, with most currently at an advanced stage and due to be completed shortly. A comprehensive written update on all 38 early actions was published on March 23rd of this year.

One of the early actions relates specifically to Military Intelligence. I wish to advise the Deputy that preliminary work relating to a review of Military Intelligence, in line with the recommendations contained within the Commission’s Report, has commenced with the establishment of a joint civil/military working group. This group is tasked with the implementation of the various recommendations contained within the Commission’s Report. To date this group has commenced a full review of the respective legislation/Acts pertaining to the role of Military Intelligence and work is ongoing. The establishment of a joint military intelligence service (recommendation 98 in the High Level Action Plan) will be progressed in line with the timeframes set out in a detailed implementation plan, for the Commissions recommendations, which is current being developed.