Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
759. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Defence in relation to the reassignment process for Reserve Defence Force, the number of applications that were initially received by the two boards; the number of these who opted to be discharged; the number of officers who opted to resign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27271/13]
View answer760. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 455 and 456 of 30 April 2013, the reason the process was not completed by 3 March 2013 as advised to the Reserve Defence Force; the reason the numbers who opted to be discharged or resign and the number of non-effectives who were not to be reassigned is not readily available as these were not entitled to appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27272/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 759 and 760 together.
In relation to the questions above regarding the reason the process was not completed by 3 March 2013 as advised to the Reserve Defence Force, the position is that Phase 1, the Preparatory Stage, was encompassed by the period up to the end of March 2013. During this stage, training in the Reserve was limited to unarmed training while preparations were made to provide the regulatory provisions for the new organisational structures and to allow personnel to apply for positions within these new structures. A revised Regulation, CS 4, was signed on 11 March 2013 and a new Administrative Instruction dealing with both the PDF and the RDF was signed by the Chief of Staff, also on 11 March. The new organisational structure came into effect on 31 March 2013.
Phase 2, which is the Implementation Phase, is currently being progressed and will extend to 30 September 2013.
The Military Authorities have advised that it is not possible, within the time available, to compile the necessary data in order to fully answer the questions in relation to the reassignment process for the Reserve Defence Force, the number of applications that were initially received by the two boards, the number of these who opted to be discharged and the number of officers who opted to resign.
In this regard I will revert with a complete answer at the earliest possible opportunity.
In order to ensure that any member of the Reserve who wished to appeal their assignment was afforded that opportunity, the last date for submitting an appeal was extended to 24 May 2013. As some members, following the outcome of the appeals process, may still choose to resign, definitive details of the total number opting to resign or to be discharged are still evolving. In addition, it will not be possible to determine until later in the process the total number of individuals who fall into the category of non-effective members of the Reserve, as it will only be with time that it will become apparent the total number of Reservists who will remain active, or not, in their re-assigned appointments.
Every effort was made to contact the maximum number of members of the Reserve in order to offer them the opportunity to indicate their preferred appointment within the new organisational structure. Many members who had not been effective for considerable periods of time may not have received this correspondence as they had not provided the organisation with current contact details. Confirmation of the numbers who did not respond will be included when providing the information mentioned above.
