Government to sign off on plans for TV licence fee and Defence Forces spending
Defence Minister Simon Coveney will seek Cabinet approval for his plan to increase spending on Ireland’s defences from €1.1bn at present to €1.5bn by 2028.
The Government will sign off on two separate significant plans for the future of the media in Ireland and for the Defence Forces.
Defence Minister Simon Coveney will seek Cabinet approval on Tuesday for his plan to increase spending on Ireland’s defences from €1.1bn at present to €1.5bn by 2028.
The understands that Mr Coveney will recommend to Government that defence force spending allow for what the Commission report into the future of the Defence Forces in February described as Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2).
The move to LOA2 will require an additional 2,000 personnel (civil and military) over and above the current figure of 9,500. Work has already commenced on this.
By moving to this level, it would allow the Defence Forces provide improved troop protection, firepower and air and coastal defence for land forces, particularly in the light of more demanding roles overseas.
Significantly, it would provide for enhanced situational awareness with recognised maritime and air pictures through the acquisition and development of primary radar, coastal radar and associated systems to allow the development of a Recognised Air Picture to support national security.
Ireland has no such readiness at the moment and is reliant on other countries for help and this weakness was exposed by recent proposed Russian activity off the coast of Cork.
LOA2 would also allow for the significant strengthening of the military intelligence and cyber defence capabilities of the Defence Forces, including through the creation of a Joint Cyber Defence Command.
The commission had said this should be achieved by 2030, but the minister has accelerated this timeline to 2028.
This will mean total defence spending of more than €8bn between now and the end of 2028.
Mr Coveney will also ask the Government to approve the payment of the military service allowances (MSA) to the rank of all private 3 star/able seaman personnel. This will see the removal of the requirement for a private 3-star / able seaman to mark time for the first three years.
The Defence Forces will also be allowed to enhance the seagoing service commitment scheme.
Meanwhile, the Government will agree to a decision to maintain but overhaul the TV licence fee, and eschew a recommendation for a new fee to be collected by the Revenue Commissioners.
Sources say this will involve a reformed funding model, building on the existing revenue stream from the direct sale of TV licences.
A technical working group will be established to examine reforms required of the current TV licence system to properly provide for the funding requirements of public service media in Ireland.
The licence fee will remain but will be updated to the way people actually consume media now and collection needs to be strengthened. The detail of that will be the focus of the Technical Group which will report back later this year on the measures required to reform the system.
This would be all done after a further examination of the potential revenue generation capacity of the TV licence system. It will be necessary to engage with other Departments, agencies and An Post to work through these complex issues in detail.
Work will commence immediately on setting out the legislative and administrative changes required to ensure the TV licence system is more equitable, relevant and sustainable.
