Research – Veterans of the Defence Forces

Commissioned By Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE)

Introduction

ONE is a Registered Charity whose primary objective is to support veterans of the Defence Forces by the provision of accommodation to homeless veterans in its Veterans’ Homes and the provision of other advice and support to veterans, in particular Mental Health advice, through its nationwide network of Branches, Veteran Support Centres, and Veteran Support Officers.

The Department of Defence indicated in June 2000 that there were approximately 140,000 veterans of the Defence Forces at that time. Using this as a baseline figure for 2024, ONE understands that this comprises 14,299 former members of the Permanent Defence Force in receipt of a pension, approximately 35,700 former members of the Permanent Defence Force discharged before pensionable age, and approximately 90,000 former members of the Reserve Defence Forces or its predecessors the FCA and An Slua Muirí.

ONE’s current services cost approximately €1.5M annually, excluding capital (building) costs. We currently receive approximately €640,000 in State funding which means that we have to raise approximately €860,000. It is estimated that the annual operational costs of the charity will rise to approximately €2M in 2026 when its new homes are open and when the Mental Health Support system is fully operational.

The role of ONE can be summarised in four words – Support, Comradeship, Advocacy, & Remembrance. A summation of this is contained in Annex A.

Purpose of the Research

While ONE has amassed a great amount of knowledge and experience in support services for veterans with complex needs, this has not been codified. The purpose of the research is to provide a solid foundation for advocacy with Government on behalf of veterans, including the further development of Veterans Policy, and to help guide the actions of ONE (and other organisations) in meeting veterans’ needs, by identifying the causes, types and extent of need among the veteran community. 

Please see full Tender Document attached below.

Submissions to cormac@oneconnect.ie. 

Closing date 31 August 2024.