The Defence Minister says a spending increase to be presented to cabinet today is the biggest change to the military 'in living memory.'
Simon Coveney will this morning recommend to Ministers one of the scenarios from the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces.
That will boost Ireland's military spending by almost 50 percent, from 1.1 billion to 1.5 billion a year by 2028.
But Minister Coveney says it's not just about money:
"It's also about a very fundamental reform of the Defence Forces."
"It's about a change of culture, about getting an awful lot more women into the Defence Forces."
He adds, "it's about increasing the size of the Defence Forces significantly."
Minister Coveney says it recommends boosting permanent military staffing by about 2,000.
But because it's currently lagging behind by 1,000 already, that "effectively means" adding about 3,000.
The Cork representative says "that's about a 35% increase in the [total] numbers."
