The Department of Defence and defence chiefs were still on a collision course yesterday over what is expected to be a proposal to cut further the size of the Army.
Military sources indicated that there could be resignations if the White Paper proposed to cut the Defence Forces back further.
In an address last year, the Chief of Staff, Lt-Gen David Stapleton, said it was his objective that there would be "no deviating" from the current structural plan and strength.
Lt-Gen Stapleton is visiting Irish troops serving with the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor. Senior military sources said he was concerned about reports of further reductions planned for the Defence Forces and that he had voiced these concerns to senior civil servants. The draft White Paper on Defence is to go to Government in about two weeks.
Civil Service sources have indicated that the military must expect the substantial hearing claims costs to be borne, in part at least, within the defence budget.
So far £101.5 million has been paid out in compensation and legal fees for 4,622 cases. A further 10,093 cases are in the pipeline. Senior military sources strongly object to the proposal that the compensation issue be tied to providing proper, professional Defence Forces.
The sources said the military have been excluded from the latest deliberations on the White Paper. A recent draft supplied to the military by the Department of Defence had key paragraphs blacked out. These dealt with manpower, organisation, equipment, finance and barrack closures. The Army was cut by 1,500 personnel three years ago.
The parts of the White Paper shown to the Army have also come in for criticism. One senior officer said the draft did not satisfactorily address the Defence Forces' increased commitment to international peacekeeping in the light of the Government's decision to join the NATO-led Partnership for Peace (PfP).
The source said it also had a "highly optimistic" view of the domestic security situation, based on a belief in the success of the political process in the North.
According to a senior military source, the proposals known to be in the draft White Paper would not be acceptable to "any military professional".
The source said the exclusion of senior military figures from the deliberations was akin to hospital managers ignoring the advice of their senior doctors.
It is understood there has been a growing mistrust between the military and civil servants in the last week after a series of leaks concerning the White Paper. The General Staff of the Defence Forces has ordered an internal inquiry into the leaks.