An Cosantóir

29 The Minister also spoke about the relationship between the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence. "If there is one thing I want to do in terms of relationships and management while I am in this role, it is to try to improve relations between the two. I see this because I get caught in the middle all the time. Sometimes I see very public criticism on social media and elsewhere of the Department and some officials in the Department, which is often very unfair and sometimes not accurate. "From my experience we have a Department that really does want to try and contribute to changing the relationship, to make it a more positive one so that we are all seen to be on the same side to try and get things done on behalf of the Defence family, whether that is the Department or serving personnel. "I have an important role to play in trying to galvanize the collective resource of both and we are going to really work to try and do that. Likewise, sometimes in the Department there is a frustration of what may be happening in the Defence Force. If you look at the talent we have in both, it is pretty exceptional. We have extraordinary talent in the Defence Forces and we have some really good civil servants in the Department." His job, he said, was to try and ensure that the collective is more powerful than the sum of its parts adding: "At the moment I'm not sure that is the case." Minister Coveney accepted there were limitations currently in the Defence Forces capability: "I do think we are limited in certain areas, people have raised with me that we don't have sufficient radar capacity off parts of the West and South West coast in terms of having a detailed enough picture in terms of the air space we are responsible for, that's an issue, it's a priority…but I have to weigh that priority against other investment priorities that we have too." He said there was a five-year capital investment programme in terms of Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. "We have got to make sure you have the capacity to be able to do the work the State asks of you safely with modern equipment, the best training facilities. So that when you are in a theatre of conflict you are as safe as you possibly can be. That is my primary focus. Whether it is upgrading the mobile fleet, buying new CASAs, PC 12s, new ships, body armour, improved telecommunication capacity, training facilities and gymnasiums, this is about modernising, improving, changing infrastructure all the time." Mr Coveney added: "The truth is we spend a lot less on defence than a lot of other countries do, let's be honest about it. We have made choices in terms of where we prioritise spend within defence infrastructure and within the Defence Forces. We have got to assess all the time whether those priorities need to change, whether we need to adapt to new realities, new threats, changes in circumstances." "That is what the built-in review processes of the White Paper are all about. That is why every few years we have to take a good look in the mirror and say are we fit for purpose, are we planning for the future appropriately, are we spending enough money and if not, why not, and it is up to me to make that service: "They take an oath to the State, I know that matters and so it should. Joining the Defence Forces is a form of patriotism, a vocation. When you take that oath it means you can't take industrial action, you can't strike, you can't get involved in political campaigns." The fact that the Commission doesn't cover the Department of Defence had been raised by a number of people with him. "People should not see the review of the Defence Forces as a threat or a criticism; actually, it's kind of the opposite. What it's about is looking at how we can invest in and plan for the future in a way that's very dynamic and exciting for members of the Defence Forces in terms of their careers." The same rationale should be applied to the Department. The Minister explained that in parallel with the Commission, a fundamental public sector review process was underway with the Dept of Defence saying: "Trust me, this is a fairly robust process around procedures, management, decision making, efficiency and so on. Whether it is my own office, the Department or the Defence Forces, we have always got to be open to independent and constructive analysis and criticism so we can do things better. " DF PODCAST: MINISTER FOR DEFENCE SIMON COVENEY TD v Minister for Defence Simon Coveny TD visits the LÉ Samuel Beckett of the Irish Naval Service while it was deployed to the Mediterranean back in 2015 v Minister for Defence Simon Coveny TD pictured here with Brigadier General David Dignam on a visit to the DFTC in the Curragh Camp last year

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