Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his answer. Recruitment and retention are considerably important issues in the Defence Forces. The focus of my question was to try to identify the proportion of commissioned officers who have more than five years' experience. The Minister was at the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, conference last year and he probably heard its general secretary state that 24% of personnel in the Defence Forces had less than five years' experience but 35% of officers had less than five years' service.

This is linked to the question of recruitment and retention and it is important we try to ensure that we retain experienced officers within the Defence Forces. Experience matters a great deal, especially in areas such as defence of the country. I am not suggesting that inexperienced people do not have an important role to play, but it is important to have that body of experience among commissioned officers in the ranks of the Defence Forces. I ask the Minister whether any other options are available to ensure we can retain those commissioned officers.

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