Vol. 523 No. 1
352 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Defence the present number of personnel in the Defence Forces; the number of new recruits; the number of recruits in the Air Corps, Naval Service and the Army; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20595/00]
There were 10,827 personnel serving in the Defence Forces on 31 August 2000, the latest date for which such figures are available. The number of new recruits enlisted in the period 1 January 2000 to 31 August 2000 is 381. Of this number 356 were assigned to the Army and 25 to the Naval Service. It is expected that 20 recruits will be assigned to the Air Corps before the end of the year.
A competition for apprenticeships in the Air Corps is currently in progress and it is expected that in the region of 20 apprentices will be recruited to the Air Corps from this competition. These will be in addition to the 20 general recruits.
