Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2020
24. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of members of the Defence Forces that left their posts in 2019, by rank in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3720/20]
View answerThe following table shows the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel, broken down by rank, who discharged between 1st January and the 31st December 2019:
|
Rank |
Number Discharged |
|
LT GEN |
0 |
|
MAJ GEN |
2 |
|
BRIG GEN |
2 |
|
COL |
4 |
|
LT COL |
11 |
|
COMDT |
27 |
|
CAPT |
21 |
|
LT |
3 |
|
SGT MAJ |
9 |
|
BQMS |
9 |
|
CS |
28 |
|
CQMS |
15 |
|
SGT |
98 |
|
CPL |
117 |
|
PTE 3* |
347 |
|
Trained total |
693 |
|
|
|
|
PTE 2* |
20 |
|
REC |
150 |
|
APPR |
3 |
|
CADET |
12 |
|
In Training Total |
185 |
|
|
|
|
Total Departures |
878 |
Personnel leave the Defence Forces for a variety of reasons including on age grounds, at end of contract and voluntary discharges. A long term average of just over 20% of personnel depart while in training.
The Government remains committed to on-going recruitment to the Defence Forces and to retaining sufficient personnel, to ensure that the Defence Forces can operate effectively across all roles. In this context, the Government's High Level Implementation Plan "Strengthening Our Defence Forces - Phase 1" sets out a range of measures to tackle recruitment and retention issues in the Permanent Defence Force. Implementation of this plan is a priority for civil and military management.
