Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2022
529. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Defence the number of current staff vacancies in each section of the Defence Forces, namely, the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, in each of the years 2019 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37702/22]
View answerThe following table details the variance between the agreed strength and the strength of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, as existed on 31st December each year between 2019 and 2021 and on 31 May 2022:
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
|
Army |
518 |
600 |
690 |
850 |
|
Air Corps |
165 |
140 |
135 |
158 |
|
Naval Service |
158 |
192 |
219 |
249 |
I have previously acknowledged the ongoing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces. I have also previously emphasised the Governments ongoing commitment to returning to the agreed strength and, in that context, a number of initiatives are being implemented to counter current staffing challenges and will play a role in restoring and retaining capacity.
Furthermore, the work of the Commission on the Defence Forces included, inter alia, consideration of staffing, recruitment and retention. I received Government approval today to move to Level of Ambition 2, as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces. Government also approved a High Level Action Plan which sets out the response of Government in relation to each of the 130 recommendations in the Commission's report.
