Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021
432. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Defence the number of additional recruits to the Permanent Defence Force to date in 2021 with regard to all three services; the gender breakdown of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24693/21]
View answerAs at 30th April 2021, a total of 149 personnel were inducted into the Permanent Defence Force comprised of 132 General Service recruits, 2 Direct Entry personnel, 14 re-enlisted personnel and 1 re-commissioned officer.
The following table contains the requested breakdown of the 132 General Service Recruits:
|
Branch |
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
Army |
114 |
5 |
119 |
|
Naval Service |
12 |
1 |
13 |
|
General Service Recruits Total |
126 |
6 |
132 |
*The Air Corps do not recruit directly but transfer recruits from the Army
Further inductions will take place throught the year as recruitment continues. The Air Corps Apprentice competition, closed in March 2021, and attracted 663 applications and these are currently being processed. General Service recruitment is ongoing and the Cadet competition was launched recently. This is in addition to the 9 current Direct Entry competitions and the Re-commissioning and Re-enlistment schemes.
The Government remains committed to returning to, and maintaining the agreed strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel as set out in the White Paper on Defence (2015).
