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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 27 together.

I am always happy to answer questions on the Reserve because it is an area of the defence family I want to prioritise and, in the past, perhaps it may not have had the priority it needs. The Government remains committed to the advancement of the Reserve Defence Force, RDF. Indeed, the White Paper on Defence has fully acknowledged that there is a clear need to retain, develop and grow the Reserve.

The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which was published last February, serves to reinforce that commitment. As the Deputy will be aware, the report contains many recommendations on the future role and structure of the RDF. A civil-military implementation management office has been established to support the implementation of the overall programme, initially focusing on some 38 early actions to be completed within six months of the Government decision, as set out in the high-level action plan. Two such actions relate to the RDF, namely the establishment of the office of Reserve affairs, ORA, and the development of a regeneration plan for the Reserve. It is clear both of these early-action plans are directly linked and the establishment of the ORA will be an essential first step in tackling the revitalisation of the Reserve. Planning by the military authorities, in collaboration with my officials, has commenced on establishing the ORA. Once it is established, it will be actively involved in implementing the accepted recommendations of the commission, which will serve to create a Reserve force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy with the Permanent Defence Force, nationally and internationally. We now have legislation that allows us to do this. This process will also take into consideration the other recommendations relating to the structure and strength of the Reserve, including that the future establishment of the Reserve should be increased and should include, at a minimum, an air force reserve of 200 and a naval reserve of 400.

The Deputy may also be aware that a recruitment drive for the RDF was launched this year, on 21 March 2022, which was advertised across a number of media channels. Recruitment liaison officers across the RDF conducted local recruitment to attract applicants for this campaign. I am advised that more than 1,000 applications were received during this window, which is encouraging. To date, 88 RDF recruits have been inducted into the Defence Forces, and the processing of eligible applicants is continuing. The military authorities have advised that once this body of work is completed, consideration will be given to the launch of a further recruitment campaign in mid-2023. I assure the Deputy that it is my intention, and that of the Chief of Staff, to ensure the momentum behind the regeneration of the RDF will be maintained throughout 2023 and the coming years.

It was encouraging for me to see what happened over the summer. We launched a recruitment campaign for the Reserve, for which more than 1,000 people applied. We had to close the application process because the applications beyond that number would not have been manageable in the short term. What that says to me, unlike the impression often given, is that there is a strong appetite to join the Defence Forces, including the Reserve and Permanent Defence Force. Our challenge is to turn that into numbers of people who actually join, commit and stay in the forces. We can do that with many of the changes that are being proposed now. It is important to give the message that we will open a new recruitment campaign for the Reserve. We want people to join the Reserve.

It is going to be a valued part of the overall defence family. It is going to get a lot more resources in the years ahead and will also be doing a lot more, including overseas.

See this speech in context