Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. According to the latest figures we have, to the end of March, the overall extent was 8,847. However, this figure does not appear to take into account those on leave of absence. I believe the Minister of State said that people in training are counted. Is that right? It is misleading, in a sense, as to whether they are all counted. The issue has been raised with us repeatedly through the Defence Forces representatives. Current reported strength, low as it is in comparison with previous times, is not a true representation of the strength on the ground. Those in training cannot be deployed on operations. Is that true? Those on leave of absence are possibly not being replaced. We are told this could be up to 1,000 additional personnel. Is that true?

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