Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

When does the Minister expect to announce that recruitment will take place for the Defence Forces? In the 2007 programme for Government a commitment was given that not alone would the numbers reach 10,500, but also that there would be 300 personnel in training at any one time. However, that commitment was subsequently renegued on by the Government. The McCarthy report suggested numbers should be reduced to 10,000 but numbers have fallen below that. It is important the numbers are restored to 10,000 as soon as possible. When will recruitment commence? A large number of officers and ordinary members of the Defence Forces appear to be leaving prematurely and taking early retirement. Has the Minister analysed the reason people are leaving early and could he put any incentives in place to encourage them to remain longer? Early retirement seems to be a problem currently.

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