Defence Forces

Tuesday, 13 February 2024

Questions (178)

Matt Carthy

Question:

178. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 142 and 143 of 18 January 2024, the number of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates in the First Line Reserve; the number of applications to join the First Line Reserve received; the number within that have been enlisted in the years 2013 to 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6036/24]

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Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Defence

The First Line Reserve (FLR) is intended to provide a pool of trained personnel who are available at short notice to supplement Permanent Defence Force (PDF) units in times of emergency. There is currently no set establishment for the FLR.

The existing regulatory framework provides for former members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) to join the Army Reserve or Naval Service Reserve. This is subject to their meeting certain criteria. Direct entry to the FLR is currently limited to personnel who are departing the PDF and have undertaken, either voluntarily or on foot of a contractual commitment, to complete a period of service in the FLR.

The FLR is an area which will be examined in the context of work arising from the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF). As an interim measure, the Department are receiving business cases from the Military Authorities for applications for personnel wishing to join the FLR. The applications are assessed on a case by case basis having regard to the particular skills-sets of the member. Since 2020, the Department has received 9 applications in total of which 6 have been approved and a further 1 is currently under consideration.

The Military Authorities have advised that as of 31 December 2023, the strength of the First Line Reserve (FLR) is 282, comprising of 5 Officers, 46 Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and 231 Privates.

A full breakdown of FLR members, including those enlisted between the years 2013 – 2022, is as follows:

YEAR	FORMATION	OFFR	NCO	PTE	TOTAL
2023	ARMY	2	13	117	132
	AIR CORPS		5	22	27
	NAVAL SERVICE	3	28	92	123
	TOTAL	5	46	231	282

2022	ARMY		13	121	134
	AIR CORPS		4	22	26
	NAVAL SERVICE	3	27	90	120
	TOTAL	3	44	233	280

2021	ARMY		13	121	134
	AIR CORPS		4	20	24
	NAVAL SERVICE	3	21	89	113
	TOTAL	3	38	230	271

2020	ARMY		14	118	132
	AIR CORPS		4	20	24
	NAVAL SERVICE	3	16	87	106
	TOTAL	3	34	225	262

2019	ARMY	16	12	136	164
	AIR CORPS	2	4	20	26
	NAVAL SERVICE	17	12	85	114
	TOTAL	35	28	241	304

2018	ARMY	16	11	130	157
	AIR CORPS	2	4	19	25
	NAVAL SERVICE	17	9	80	106
	TOTAL	35	24	229	288

2017	ARMY	22	11	123	156
	AIR CORPS	3	4	19	26
	NAVAL SERVICE	20	7	62	89
	TOTAL	45	22	204	271

2016	ARMY	25	10	109	144
	AIR CORPS	6	4	18	28
	NAVAL SERVICE	22	4	50	76
	TOTAL	53	18	177	248

2015	ARMY	27	11	102	140
	AIR CORPS	7	4	17	28
	NAVAL SERVICE	25	4	43	72
	TOTAL	59	19	162	240

2014	ARMY	27	10	113	150
	AIR CORPS	7	4	15	26
	NAVAL SERVICE	27	7	43	77
	TOTAL	61	21	171	253

2013	ARMY	29	13	117	159
	AIR CORPS	10		7	17
	NAVAL SERVICE	29	9	33	71
	TOTAL	68	22	157	247

I would like to assure the Deputy that it is my intention, and that of the Chief of Staff, to ensure that the momentum behind the regeneration of the RDF will be maintained, thereby enabling us, going forward, to create a Reserve Defence Force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy with the Permanent Defence Force, both nationally and internationally.