John Brady
Question:640. Deputy John Brady asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current strength of the Reserve Defence Force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63571/22]
View answerWednesday, 18 January 2023
Questions (640)
Written answers
The Reserve Defence Force (RDF) is comprised of the First Line Reserve, the Army Reserve (AR) and the Naval Service Reserve (NSR). The Government remains absolutely committed to the advancement of the RDF. The White Paper on Defence is quite clear that there is a continued requirement to retain and develop the Reserve and the Government remains fully committed to this.
The strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as of 30 November 2022, is set out below:
|
Service |
Total Effective Personnel |
|
Army Reserve |
1,423 |
|
Naval Reserve |
108 |
|
First Line Reserve |
279 |
The Deputy will be aware that the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces contains many detailed recommendations, including on the future structure and role of the RDF.
A High Level Action Plan (HLAP) that sets out the Government’s response to the Report was approved last year with some specific initiatives including the immediate commencement of planning for the establishment of an Office of Reserve Affairs with the priority objective of developing a regeneration plan for the Reserve Defence Force.
A high-level implementation plan to drive forward the recommendations from the Report, including those relating to the Reserve Defence Force, is currently in the final stages of preparation.
The Deputy may also be aware that a recruitment drive for the RDF was launched last year on 21 March 2022, which was advertised across a number of media channels. Recruit Liaison Officers across the RDF conducted local recruitment to attract applicants for this campaign.
I am advised that over 1000 applications were received during this window, which is very encouraging.
To date, 88 RDF recruits have been inducted into the Defence Forces and the processing of eligible applicants is continuing. The military authorities have advised me that once this body of work is completed, consideration will be given to the launch of a further recruitment campaign in mid 2023.