Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2024
25. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide a breakdown of the current number of personnel in all branches of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22141/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs of the 31 March 2024 the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,510 personnel. This was comprised of 6,087 Army, 701 Air Corps and 722 Naval Service personnel. The agreed overall establishment strength was recently increased by 100 to 9,600 to account for the first cohort of Commission on the Defence Forces (CODF) appointments.
Changes have been introduced by this Government to make the Defence Forces an attractive option as a career choice to both existing and potential members and I continue to work with the Defence Forces to enhance recruitment and retention. Underpinning this work is the provision, contained in the €1.23 billion allocated for the Defence Sector in Budget 2024, for the recruitment and training of a net additional 400 personnel in 2024.
Recruitment continues with ongoing general service and direct entry recruitment in addition to the re-entry schemes. The 2024 Military Aircraft Technician traineeship is open for applications while the 2024 Army and Air Corp cadetship competitions have closed recently with the Naval Service competition due to close shortly. Furthermore, two new recruitment streams, an Air Traffic Control Cadetship and a Direct Entry Officer role are being progressed
A number of measures have also been introduced with a view to increasing the recruitment pool, such as the increase in the maximum recruitment age to 39 for those roles that had a recruitment age below that, and the increase to 50 years of age for Direct Entry Officer specialists. The establishment of the Joint Induction Training Centre in Gormanston has increased the training capacity for recruits and when fully operational will further increase this capacity.
In addition to current recruitment initiatives, a number of financial and non-financial retention initiatives are currently being implemented such an increase in the mandatory retirement age, a new Naval Service Patrol Duty allowance, and the extension of the provision of private secondary healthcare to all members of the PDF, in addition to significant progress on pay
These are examples of the considerable efforts that are being made to address recruitment and retention challenges in the Defence Forces, and efforts continue in this regard.
