Minister for Defence Wille O¿Dea today said ¿tough and decisive¿ action was required in difficult economic times and warned that the upcoming Budget would be severe.
¿Next week . . . the Minister for Finance will present his Budget. It is no secret that this will be one of the toughest Budgets in decades and that some hard decisions are being taken which will result in considerable reductions in public expenditure,¿ the Minister told the PDFORRA annual delegate conference in Westport, Co Mayo.
¿Over the past year we have seen a number of negative influences on the world economy and a small open economy, like ours, is not immune to what is happening in the rest of the world.¿
But Mr O¿Dea added that the ¿underlying strength¿ of the Irish economy gave cause for considerable optimism, and that he was satisfied that ¿unlike any time in the past, Ireland is well positioned to deal with the consequences of the international slowdown¿.
He also referred to the State¿s planned bank guarantee, saying the Government had acted quickly and decisively to address the difficulties that beset the banking sector and "potentially threatened the functioning of our economy and the continued distribution of the benefits of economic growth throughout society¿.
The Minister went on to say that although upcoming budgetary measures ¿may be unpalatable¿, the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces would rise to the challenge of responding to budgetary restrictions.
The role and importance of the forces ¿is clearly acknowledged by me and by the Government¿, and that the budgetary situation did not diminish a commitment to modernising the Defence Forces, Mr O¿Dea told the conference.
The Minister also noted that this year saw the celebration of 50 years of Irish peacekeeping.
"From Cork to the Congo, from Galway to the Gaza Strip, from this legislative assembly to the United Nations, Ireland is sending its most talented men to do the world's most important work - the work of peace."
PDFORRA (Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association) represents enlisted personnel serving in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps.
