John Brady
Ceist:349. Deputy John Brady asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current strength of the Reserve Defence Force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10849/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 7 March 2023
Ceisteanna (349)
Freagraí scríofa
The Reserve Defence Force (RDF) is comprised of the First Line Reserve, the Army Reserve (AR) and the Naval Service Reserve (NSR). The Government remains absolutely committed to the advancement of the RDF. The White Paper on Defence is quite clear that there is a continued requirement to retain and develop the Reserve and the Government remains fully committed to this.
The strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as of 31 January 2023, is set out below.
|
Service |
Total Effective Personnel |
|
Army Reserve |
1,386 |
|
Naval Service Reserve |
73 |
|
First Line Reserve |
277 |
The Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces contains many detailed recommendations, including on the future structure and role of the RDF.
A High Level Action Plan (HLAP) that sets out the Government’s response to the Report has also been approved with some specific initiatives including the immediate commencement of planning for the establishment of an Office of Reserve Affairs with the priority objective of developing a regeneration plan for the Reserve Defence Force.
The Deputy may also be aware that the 2022 recruitment drive for the RDF was advertised across a number of media channels. Recruit Liaison Officers across the Reserve conducted local recruitment to attract applicants for this campaign and over 1000 applications were received, which is very encouraging.
In 2022, to the end of year, 90 RDF recruits were inducted into the Defence Forces and the processing of eligible applicants is continuing. A further 4 have been inducted in 2023 as of February 28. The military authorities have advised me that once this body of work is completed, consideration will be given to the launch of a further recruitment campaign in mid 2023.