Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

As Deputies will be aware, we have already commenced recruitment to the Naval Service, the area in most urgent need. Those new recruits will be coming on stream shortly. The next two phases will involve a cadet class - I have not completed discussions in this regard - and an intake to the military. I hope to move on this process towards the end of the year.

In previous years, the number of personnel leaving was considerably greater than is the case currently. This would have given room for a recruitment campaign that enabled us to deploy people to the areas most in need. However, a small number of personnel are leaving, so the leeway in terms of deploying people is not as great as one would like.

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