Vol. 576 No. 3
42 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Defence if there are proposals for a change in the method of recruitment of cadets for the Defence Forces with more emphasis being placed on university graduates, rather than school leavers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29443/03]
One of the major policy initiatives provided for in the White Paper on Defence was the putting in place of an integrated personnel management plan, IPMS, for the Defence Forces. This plan will deal with a broad range of very complex human resource management and development issues and will put in place a comprehensive in-take policy and active personnel management framework to address the Defence Forces officer requirements over the coming decade.
A proposed IPMS has been prepared by the military authorities and is now being considered by the Department's civil-military strategic committee. Before any final decisions are taken on the introduction of the IPMS it is my intention that the Defence Forces representative associations be fully consulted.
Question No. 43 answered with Question No. 26.
