Peadar Tóibín
Question:233. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence the number of personnel who departed or left the Defence Forces in each of the past five years to date in 2021. [49331/21]
View answerTuesday, 12 October 2021
Questions (233)
Written answers
The table below shows the number of personnel who discharged from the Defence Forces (including those in training) in each of the years 2016-2020 and to date in 2021.
|
Year |
In Training |
Total Departures |
|
2016 |
171 |
679 |
|
2017 |
209 |
742 |
|
2018 |
139 |
740 |
|
2019 |
187 |
882 |
|
2020 |
190 |
636 |
|
2021* |
107 |
379 |
*As at 31st August 2021, the latest date for which such data is currently available.
Discharges include personnel who left for a variety of reasons including on age grounds, at end of contract and voluntary discharges. More than 50% of those who leave the Defence Forces do so with some form of pension. This can make taking up a position in the private sector very attractive where a full-time position, even at the same rates as those in the Defence Forces, could lead to an increase in an individual’s earnings.
Included in the figures above is the number of trainees who exited prior to completion of their initial training. The average turnover rate of General Service Recruits who do not complete training has been around 30% over the last number of years. In any position where there is a training period prior to appointment there will always be fall off at different stages of the process.