Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A three brigade structure was retained from the 1990s onward, when there were 11,500 full-time Defence Force personnel. This structure was also retained on foot of the White Paper on Defence published in 2000, which reduced the strength of the Permanent Defence Force to 10,500. It is no longer viable to retain the structure.

Some 1,772 Army personnel - 24% of its total strength - have been redeployed within the newly structured brigades and via the Defence Forces training centre. Any member of the Permanent Defence Force whose appointment was directly affected by the reorganisation was assessed for a new appointment during the reassignment phase. This was done to minimise the impact of the reorganisation on individuals. The reassignment process allowed for personnel due to be reassigned to indicate their choice of new appointment. In seeking to match personnel to be reassigned with appointments to be filled, the reassignment board based its decisions on a range of criteria. These included whether the person concerned held the substantive rank of the appointment, the person's length of service and his or her length of service in the rank appropriate to the appointment to be filled. Consideration was also given to the personal requirements of personnel. Every effort was made to redeploy personnel to locations close to their homes and to avoid disruption. It was not possible, however, to facilitate all personnel. Ultimately, the process resulted in some personnel displacement.

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