The establishment of the Naval Service is 1,094 personnel and the strength, as at 31 March 2024, was 722 personnel. The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Naval Service stood at 936 personnel in 2019, 902 in 2020, 875 in 2021, 798 in 2022, and 725 in 2023.
The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces approved a move, over a six-year period, to a level of Permanent Defence Force capability equivalent to LOA 2, requiring an additional 2,000 personnel, civil and military, beyond the 9,500 establishment figure.
The distribution of these additional personnel between the different branches of the Defence Forces is under consideration. The establishment of the Defence Forces was recently increased to 9,600 to expedite implementation of the report.
The ongoing staffing challenges in the Naval Service are well-documented. A number of recruitment and retention initiatives are under way aimed at maximising recruitment capacity and stabilising numbers. These include ongoing general service recruitment, re-entry schemes, eight Naval Service-specific direct entry competitions and three Naval Service cadetship competitions. An external recruitment company was engaged in 2023 to validate and assess the Defence Forces current recruitment methods, focusing on the Naval Service. A marine recruitment specialist company has been contracted to target individuals with the specific skills required by the Naval Service. In an effort to remove potential obstacles to recruitment, the maximum recruitment age has been increased to 39 for those roles that had a recruitment age below that, and to 50 for direct entry officer specialists.
Furthermore, a number of financial and non-financial retention initiatives are being implemented. These include an increase in the mandatory retirement age to 60, with a further increase to 62 anticipated, the doubling of the Naval Service patrol duty allowance, tax measures, and the extension of the provision of private secondary healthcare to all members of the Permanent Defence Force, in addition to significant progress on pay.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Naval Service has adopted a three-ship operational posture, with two ships operational and another on standby. In addition, I am advised that the first of the inshore patrol vessels will become operational in June, with the second of these vessels prioritised for entry into service thereafter.