Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The 2015 White Paper on Defence commits to maintaining the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel, comprising of 7,520 Army, 886 Air Corps and 1,094 Naval Service personnel. The strength of the Permanent Defence Force on 31 October 2017 stood at 9,219, whole-time equivalent, which is 97% of the establishment.

This comprises 7,417 member of the Army, 744 members of the Air Corps and 1,058 members of the Naval Service. The establishment strength of 9,500 provides for the full staffing of each unit within the Defence Forces organisational structures. The ratio of strength to establishment for each unit is determined by the extent to which vacancies within the establishment for each unit are filled. There are vacancies across most units and recruitment efforts are under way to address those vacancies.

In this context, personnel deployed from units or engaged in development training should not be confused with vacancies. Units are maintained in order that personnel can be deployed, not in order to remain fully manned in barracks. The Defence Forces have always drawn personnel from units for overseas service and other deployments. Personnel also engage in training on an ongoing basis. This is to be welcomed and any decisions regarding scaling back on overseas deployments, deployments at home or training will be informed by the advice of the general staff. I can confirm that I have not received any such advice.

Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is, understandably, a significant annual turnover of personnel in the Defence Forces. However, in recent years the levels of departures have exceeded intakes and this has limited the Defence Forces' ability to meet their establishment strength. To counteract this, ongoing targeted recruitment has taken place with the objective of returning to, and maintaining, the stated establishment figure of 9,500.

As I have previously outlined, there are particular challenges with vacancies in certain specialist posts, such as those relating to pilots, air traffic controllers and certain technicians. These specialists can prove difficult to retain where, as in the current economic circumstances, there are ongoing private sector and commercial semi-State sector job opportunities. The Public Service Pay Commission will further examine the issue of retention of specialist personnel in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020.

The number of officers as of 31 October 2017 was 1,056 out of an establishment of 1,233. The suggestion that there are vacancies in 50% of officer posts in units is clearly at variance with these figures. The number of cadets in training has substantially increased recently, with approximately 100 cadets having been recruited in each of the years 2016 and 2017. Approximately 70 cadets will be commissioned as officers in January 2018.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

On foot of issues raised in the climate survey, I have brought forward a White Paper project to examine skills gaps across the Defence Forces. This will provide an opportunity to examine any gaps arising across the Defence Forces and to bring forward recommendations having regard to work practices, training practices and other issues arising.

The manpower requirement of the Defence Forces is monitored on an ongoing basis in accordance with the operational requirements of each of the three services. Personnel are posted on the basis of operational needs across the organisation both at home and abroad.

With the support of the Chief of Staff and within the resources available, it is intended to retain the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles and to undertake both the home and overseas tasks laid down by Government.

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