An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May / June 2024 www.military.ie/magazine 8 | T he Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) is the Joint Dept. of Defence / Defence Forces planning process used to propose, design, procure and deliver strategic infrastructure projects for the Defence Forces. It is a rolling five-year capital investment plan approved by the Minister comprising major projects with construction starts within the duration of the plan. The IDP provides the certainty and time necessary to develop capital projects for the Defence Forces while being flexible and robust enough to respond to unforeseen challenges i.e. project delays, cancellations, or adding new projects arising from evolving strategic decisions. Capital construction works projects by their nature, and applicable public sector procurement guidelines, require considerable time to plan, design, procure and construct. The IDP five-year framework and procedures provide an effective process and means to deliver major infrastructure projects while maintaining the necessary governance oversight to ensure compliance with public procurement requirements (i.e. Infrastructure Guidelines and Capital Works Management Framework). The concept of a rolling 5-year plan is a major improvement over the constraints of the former annual estimate budgeting requirements and provides greater certainty to delivery of Defence Forces infrastructure projects. History The IDP was developed by a Joint Project Team under the Government Defence White Paper Implementation Plan as a process to streamline the delivery of Capital infrastructure projects for the Defence Forces. The aim was to develop a co-ordinated 5 year infrastructure development plan that reflects, on a priority needs basis, an approach for all infrastructure development requirements for the life time of the White Paper. The flexible and robust nature of the planning process and the regular annual reviews built into the processes allows for plan adjustments to take account of unforeseen developments, delays, or the need to introduce new infrastructure projects arising from strategic organisation decisions. The IDP was first approved by the Minister for Defence in January 2020 and listed 36 capital infrastructure projects for the period 2020 to 2025. The current iteration 2022-2027 was launched in December 2022 and the Minister for Defence indicated his desire to scale up the level of output. The value of capital projects for delivery by end of 2027 in the current IDP is approx. €355M. Significant progress has been made on the delivery of infrastructure on the current IDP with 13 projects completed, 6 projects on site and a further 5 projects at contract stage. A joint DoD/DF review of the IDP is ongoing at present with masterplans being developed for DF installations. The spend on the Built Infrastructure Subhead in 2023 was €50m, up from €29m in 2022. The spend is expected to be €56M in 2024 which reflects the level of ambition and pipeline of projects that are coming to site at the moment. Some of the major projects delivered over the last 12 months are as follows: Haulbowline Block 8 is a four storey stone faced building dating from circa 1822 enjoying 'listed' status on Cork County Council Record of Protected Structures (RPS) and located prominently opposite Cobh. The project involved the refurbishment of the structure, renewal of all mechanical and electrical services and alterations required to make it suitable to accommodate 70 living-in Naval Service personnel in compliance with Defence Forces' accommodation standards and in a manner complying with heritage considerations following consultations with the Local Authority. McKee Bks McKee Barracks is undergoing a major refurbishment and upgrading as part of the infrastructure programme. A suite of investments to the value of almost €30m over the last 24 months has resulted in iconic buildings being restored to their former glory. The barracks is designated an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) which aims to identify an area of special character and architectural interest and to preserve that special character. This places an added burden on any building works in the barracks and limits the degree of flexibility in terms of design. Despite having to fulfil this objective significant works are underway or have been completed: • McKee Bks Coy Offices • Block H • East Terrace Buildings • Block F • New Printing Press • New Offices for DMB/MAP • New Locker Block • Octagon refurbishment DF INFRASTRUCTURE ARTICLE BY COL DAMIEN MCEVOY PHOTOS BY COL DAMIEN MCEVOY Haulbowline Block 8 – accommodation for NS personnel Construction works in McKee Bks

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