Defence Forces

Monday, 11 September 2023

Questions (219)

Patrick Costello

Question:

219. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence for a breakdown, in tabular form, of the number of Defence Forces personnel, and their rank, who have been assigned to teaching in the Military College, Air Corps College or Naval College over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38402/23]

View answer

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Defence

I am informed by the military authorities that it was not possible to collate the required information within the timeframe available. I shall provide the information to the Deputy once it becomes available.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.

I refer to the above-referenced Parliamentary Question and my original reply stating that it was not possible to provide the required information within the timeframe available. I am now in a position to do so. The military authorities, in supplying the details below, have advised that due to operational commitments it is not always possible to keep the same individual in the same teaching post for the whole year and in such instances the post will generally be filled by another instructor. Therefore, the figures provided below are the cumulative number of instructors assigned in each year rather than the number of posts filled.

The Defence Forces prioritise the staffing of these colleges with sufficient and suitable instructing staff. The requirement for such staff may vary annually depending on variables such as the number of students and/or courses etc

The following tables contain the number of Defence Force Personnel, by rank and year, who have been assigned to teaching in the Military College, Air Corps College and Naval College over the past five years. The 2023 figures detailed below are as at 1 September 2023.

The Military College	-				-
Rank	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Col	4	1	2	2	2
Lt Col	8	7	8	8	6
Comdt	9	10	8	9	10
Capt	6	7	8	12	6
LT	6	4	1	4	3
BSM/BQMS	6	6	6	6	5
CS/CQMS	9	9	8	8	9
Sgt	27	29	32	27	21
Cpl	17	16	12	7	17

Air Corps College
Rank	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Comdt	2	3	3	3	2
Capt	5	3	3	5	4
Lt	1	2	3	2	3
F/Sgt	2	2	1	2	3
Sgt	4	5	8	5	4
Cpl	6	8	7	6	8

The Naval College	-	-	-	-	-
Year Posted	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
CDR	1	1	2	1	1
LT CDR	6	7	7	5	7
LT (NS)	10	8	7	8	10
S/LT	3	3	1	3	1
SCPO	1	1	1	1	1
CPO	17	15	13	15	15
PO	19	17	12	14	14
L/SEA	14	14	6	13	3