Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2017, expenditure relating to the publicity and advertising of various recruitment campaigns amounted to approximately €457,000. I presume the figure of €15 million referenced by the Deputy is a figure reported by the media as a saving that could result from retaining existing personnel rather than recruiting new personnel. This figure was provided by the military authorities as an estimate of the cost of training the number of personnel to replace a similar number who left voluntarily in 2016. There is significant scope for misinterpreting such estimates. The majority of that estimated cost relates to the pay of personnel being trained and their training staff. However, I must point out that if the personnel being replaced by trainees had not left, their salary costs would still be incurred. As such, those costs would be incurred in any event. In addition, there has always been a requirement to train recruits and to have instructors to so do.

I am advised by the military authorities that as of 31 December 2017, 751 personnel were inducted into the Defence Forces while 742 personnel exited the organisation. Of the 742 discharges, 209 were personnel who left before they completed their initial training, mainly comprising general service recruits. The long-run average for turnover of general service recruits during training is 22%, while in 2017 it was 28%.

In retention of trained personnel, 533 trained personnel left the Permanent Defence Forces in 2017. This compares to a long-run average departure rate of approximately 500 trained personnel. Additionally, the 2017 discharge rate of slightly more than 8% must be viewed against an overall average departure rate of 6.3% since 2002, with a peak of 8.58% in 2012. The issue of turnover in military organisations is complex, having regard to the range of specialties and internal training dynamic. The impact of turnover may vary depending on the functional area and the ability to regenerate capacity.

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