Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2023
598. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of staff in the Defence Forces who must retire in the next three years due to the mandatory age of retirement; the way it is intended to replace these members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13419/23]
View answerThe following table details the number of PDF personnel due to retire in the next three years on age grounds:
|
Year |
Total Personnel |
|
2023 |
121 |
|
2024 |
112 |
|
2025 |
152 |
Compulsory retirement ages and service limits in the Defence Forces are kept under review with key considerations of manpower policy and operational needs.
In 2021, the Minister for Defence secured agreement, with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, for an extension in service limits for Privates and Corporals who were recruited post 1994. A subsequent interim arrangement for a continuance in service for Sergeants was also agreed.
The recommendations from a joint civil/military Department of Defence review of mandatory retirement ages in the Permanent Defence Force are being considered in an Inter-Departmental Working Group. The Department of Defence is a member of this Group, which was established to consider mandatory retirement ages and service limits for public service groups who have 'fast accrual' occupational pension arrangements. Options for interim measures pending the outcome of the work of this interdepartmental group are being considered.
Ongoing staffing challenges in the Defence Forces have been acknowledged and the Defence Forces are developing strategies to achieve increased recruitment and to address the current shortfall in numbers. My immediate focus is now on stabilising the staffing situation in the Defence Forces and thereafter in bringing the strength to the numbers required to meet the agreed level of ambition arising from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.
