Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The results of the recruitment process last year were not good. We had 2,146 applicants. Of those, 1,857 were eligible, a large number of whom withdrew from the process. After a fitness test and interview procedure, only 152 new people were inducted into the reserve. Issues and problems need to be overcome in terms of the numbers of suitable people applying.

We need to consider other options. A parliamentary question has been tabled on employment protection and law, the answer to which is very negative from my perspective. I do not think that, for the moment, we can consider introducing regulations or legislation which would require employers to facilitate people taking time off. We have a pretty fragile economy at the moment and many businesses would find that difficult. However, we need to consider all of these things and have an open mind. At the moment the answer to that particular question is "No," but if we cannot find other ways to increase the number of volunteers who want to be part of the reserve we will need to examine all measures to ensure we have sufficient numbers.

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