Vol. 524 No. 5
104 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Defence if he will give serious consideration to recruiting non-nationals to the Defence Forces due to the difficulty in recruitment; if Irish citizenship would be favourable considered for these following the appropriate security clearance and other procedures being followed and with an appropriate commitment to the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23218/00]
The question of enlisting non-nationals in the Defence Forces is not a new one. At present the military authorities have the authority to approve applicants for enlistment who are not Irish nationals. Each application is taken on its merits and examined on an individual basis before a decision is made. I understand that about ten such people are currently serving in the Defence Forces.
At the recent annual delegate conference of PDFORRA, the question of targeting recruitment of non-nationals was discussed. The general secretary of PDFORRA, addressing the conference, called on the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to initiate immediate discussions with all interested parties, with a view to inviting and attracting non-nationals to join the Defence Forces in return for an accelerated entitlement to citizenship. The general secretary when speaking on the motion also indicated that he wished the issues raised to be considered with a view to presenting details of any scheme to next years conference for approval.
In looking at this issue, it goes without saying that Irish society has to become far more open and inclusive. There are many existing rules, attitudes and assumptions which will have to be challenged as part of this process. In that context, it is opportune that we review the criteria for enlistment in the Defence Forces. I will approach the review with a completely open mind, concerned only to ensure that whatever rules need to be applied will reflect the realities of the 21st century. However, I would caution that the existing rigorous selection procedure and security clearance requirements will always be applied.
The question of entitlement to citizenship is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Officials from my Department will work with the military authorities and with officials from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and other interested parties to review the current criteria in relation to enlistment.
I welcome the Minister's reply in this case. I was at the PDFORRA conference when this call was made and I see the Chief of Staff had no objections. The Minister would probably need to accelerate recruitment of non-nationals because up to the end of September, nearly 650 people have left the forces. In many cases, the best technical and engineering people are leaving because the Celtic tiger is proving to be an enemy of the Army.
Will the Deputy ask a question?
Given this year's recruitment target of 750 and that up to the end of September 390 people have been recruited, how does the Minister expect to achieve his target? The Mini ster should accelerate the employment of non-nationals and enlisting them into the Army.
We gave a commitment in the programme for Government that more than 1,500 recruits would be taken into the Defence Forces and we have exceeded that. At the same time, the Deputy is right in that the buoyancy in the economy and the opportunity for alternative employment is hitting us and, indeed, many areas of the public service and the private sector. That, in itself, is a great thing for the country, that is, that there are so many jobs and that the unemployment rate is so low. It is something for which we all worked and welcome very much.
I cannot be certain that we will reach our full target. We relaunched the recruitment programme recently and we hope that with the in-take of applications, we can move very close to reaching our target by the end of the year. If not, we will look at alternative ways because we need young people coming in as they are the life blood of the forces of the future. The percentage of young people serving in the Defence Forces at home and overseas is now at a higher level than ever before.
It is worth bearing in mind that from 1996 to 1999, 4,422 people have left the Defence Forces and already this year, more than 600 have left. In a period of four years and nine months, 5,000 people have left. It is extremely important that we accelerate the recruitment of non-nationals into the Army.
As Deputy Finucane will know, he has mentioned figures which included the voluntary retirement scheme which his Administration introduced.
I have, of course, because they are gone.
