John Brady
Question:594. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Defence the number of former members of the Defence Forces that have rejoined in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20097/20]
View answerThursday, 30 July 2020
Questions (594)
Written answers
On 1 April last, former Minister with responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, TD., launched the scheme to re-enlist former Permanent Defence Force enlisted personnel who have the skills and expertise required to fill identified vacancies that currently exist. This includes technicians, fitters, chefs, communications and IT specialists and naval staff. The scheme will allow for initial re-enlistment for a minimum of six months and up to 3 years. The duration of the re-enlistment offered will be dependent on the vacancies that exist.
On foot of a recommendation from the Chief of Staff, I have recently approved the re-enlistment of 17 candidates. I'm told that further recommendations from the Chief of Staff, having regard to identified skills gaps in the Permanent Defence Force, are imminent.
The Military Authorities have also advised that those candidates approved by me for re-enlistment, are in the process of being informed of this decision, along with any re-induction training and re-validation requirements, before proceeding to attestation and re-enlistment.
Separately, a scheme which facilitates the re-entry of former officers to the Permanent Defence Force introduced last October, has seen 3 former pilots return to serve in the Air Corps this year. There is also scope to re-commission officers in other specialist streams across the Defence Forces and I understand a number of expressions of interest in the scheme have been received recently.