Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
7. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of members of the Defence Forces that have exited the services by retirement and resignation in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [10082/20]
View answerThe following table outlines the number of Defence Forces discharges in each of the years 2017 to end April 2020.
DEFENCE FORCES DISCHARGES
|
Year |
Total Discharges |
No. of Personnel who Discharged by Purchase |
Other Discharges, incl voluntary retirements & retirements on age grounds |
|
2020* |
215 |
77 |
138 |
|
2019 |
882 |
367 |
515 |
|
2018 |
731 |
290 |
441 |
|
2017 |
742 |
315 |
427 |
*as at 30 Apr 2020
There are a range of reasons why personnel discharge from the Defence Forces.
Discharge by purchase occurs when a Non Commissioned Officer or Private elects to resign from the Defence Forces and pays an appropriate sum to discharge, in accordance with Defence Force Regulation A10 Para 61 (3). Recruits can also elect to discharge by purchase and a significant proportion of recruits, approximately 22% on average, depart from the Defence Forces during the training phase for various reasons.
Voluntary early retirements occur when personnel wish to end their service at break points before reaching the mandatory retirement age limit for his/her respective rank. These retirements occur at the persons own request, at his/her request after 12 years, expiry of PDF service, on pension after 21 years, or on termination of engagement.
Other discharges include retirement on age grounds, death, below medical standards, service no longer required, or unlikely to become effective.
