The Defence Forces will lose 500 personnel, close more Army barracks, greatly cut back on oversees missions and will not replace aging Naval vessels if the recommendations of An Bord Snip Nua are acted upon.
The reach of the proposed reduction in expenditure across the Defence Forces is so extreme that the closure of the world-famous Army Equitation School has been proposed in order to realise savings of just €1 million.
The extent of what has been proposed has taken most in the Defence Forces by “extreme surprise”, according to a number of informed sources.
It is proposed that €53.4 million be saved in the €1 billion Defence budget. Some 520 positions have been earmarked to go, 500 from the Defence Forces and 20 from the Department of Defence.
An Bord Snip Nua says the cuts can be achieved by consolidating the Defence Forces’ command structure. It says the Department should formulate a plan by the end of the year outlining how the 520 positions can be shed in the next “two to three years”.
It believes if staffing is reduced at the rate envisaged some €25 million would be save annually; almost half the savings identified across the Defence budget.
PDFORRA, the association representing soldiers, sailors and aircrew, expressed concern at the proposed cuts. It said the capability of the Defence Forces to provide fishery protection, peacekeeping and aid to the civil power operations would be reduced.
Association general secretary Gerry Rooney said: “It is hard to comprehend how the decision to recommend the reduction in the Defence Forces by a further 5 per was arrived at given the organisation has been subject to (staffing) cuts amounting to 18 per cent over the past decade.”
The Defence Forces should not be the first port of call every time the Government was trying to save money.
While 10 barracks have already been closed it is suggested that some of the remaining 24 also be closed. It says the closure will achieve savings and will also allow large tracts of land to be sold to raise money for the State.
A reduction in the number of barracks would help facilitate the proposed staffing cuts.
Despite the depressed state of the property and land market, particularly at the top end of the market, Cathal Brugha barracks in Rathmines, Dublin 6, has been singled out for closure.
The group also recommends a review be carried out of all of the other 33 Defence Forces properties, such as training grounds and firing ranges, with a view to partial divestment of the portfolio.
Elsewhere, the report notes there is “no justification for the Army Equitation School as part of a modern professional” Defence Force. It recommends the withdrawal of its funding.
It calls for the extension of the lifespan of Naval vessels that were due to be replaced and has suggest the 4,900-strong Reserve Defence Forces be reduced by two thirds to save €5.6 million.
