Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Defence Vote group comprises of two Votes: Vote 35 - Army pensions and Vote 36 - defence.

The 2023 Vote 36 – defence net surplus surrendered to the Exchequer was €18.1 million. This figure includes surplus appropriations-in-aid of €9.1 million, which, as the Deputy will be aware, cannot be used to fund additional expenditure and must be surrendered to the Exchequer. Appropriations-in-aid on the defence Vote primarily comprise of superannuation receipts and UN receipts, the timing of which can be difficult to predict. Surplus appropriations-in-aid are not unique to defence and are a common occurrence across all Votes.

Excluding surplus appropriations-in-aid, the surrender on the gross defence Vote allocation of €915.4 million was €9 million or 1% of the gross allocation.

During 2023, underspends arose across a number of subheads, most notably on subhead A3 – PDF pay, due to the Permanent Defence Force strength falling below its target. In line with public financial procedures, and with the approval of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, most of these savings were redirected to meet spending pressures elsewhere on the defence Vote, particularly on capital. Investment in a number of significant projects, including the inshore patrol vessels, military aircraft and software defined radio, resulted in total capital spending of €208 million, more than €30 million in excess of the allocation.

This prudent approach ensured that any underspends arising were used effectively to meet spending challenges elsewhere across the Vote in 2023, while also fully adhering to all relevant public procurement guidelines and the public spending code/infrastructure guidelines.

With regard to 2024, while expenditure is currently slightly behind profile, latest projections are that the end of year spending position will align very closely with the allocation.

With regard to Army pensions, in 2023 the net surplus surrendered to the Exchequer was €3.4 million, amounting to 1% of the gross allocation of €294 million. Expenditure on the Army pensions Vote is predominantly demand-led and non-discretionary. A similar outcome is expected for 2024.

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