Minister’s Speech to RACO
61. Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on his speech to the biennial conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38197/05]
Mr. Kitt: On 29 November 2005, the Minister for Defence addressed the biennial delegate conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, in Cavan. The Minister sought to make his address relevant, informative and positive and discussed topics of interest to military delegates, their colleagues and to the wider community. Those topics included the representative process, partnership, Defence Forces Arbitration Board, Defence spending, the White Paper on Defence, EU battlegroups, Volunteer Corps Unit, overseas numbers, bullying and harassment, future pay policy, equal opportunity and the review of measures with a view to maximising the number of women applicants into the Irish Defence Forces. The Minister is satisfied that his speech was well received by the assembled delegates and is grateful to the Deputies for their interest in his address which can be accessed from the Department’s website, www.defence.ie.
Among the issues raised by RACO were the White Paper on Defence, partnership, modernisation agenda, promotion system, child care, public service pay system, benchmarking, arbitration, medical review, retirement age, disaster relief and military representation in the Portuguese Defence Forces. It is clear that the Minister covered a very wide and comprehensive agenda in his address to RACO.
Mr. Gormley: Does the Minister of State intend to invest more in military hardware because of our peacekeeping and peace enforcement obligations? Second, I do not think the Minister of State responded to my earlier point. Following on from what Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan said at the RACO conference, are there plans to invest more money in the intelligence services? Can the Minister of State give me a direct answer?
Mr. Kitt: That would be a matter for the interdepartmental committee and the steering group. Personally I feel it is an important area in which we should invest. Intelligence is critical in terms of prevention. I share the Deputy’s views on this matter and will report them to the Department.
With regard to military hardware, the Government continues to review its investment in such equipment. Clearly there will be more investment in the years ahead because of the increase in budget and the sale of property which gives us an opportunity to invest more in equipment.