Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As of 31 May 2023, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,764 personnel while in 2022 it was 7,966, in 2021 it was 8,456 and in 2020 it was 8,568. The current establishment of the Defence Forces is 9,500. I note that the Deputy requested a further breakdown of these figures by branch and I have arranged for a table with these details to be provided to her.

Sanction has recently been received for 100 extra positions to facilitate the implementation of the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. This is in addition to the recently appointed civilian head of transformation and the pending appointment of a civilian head of strategic HR within the Defence Forces.

I have previously acknowledged the staffing difficulties in the Defence Forces and work to counter these is ongoing. The military authorities advise that current Defence Forces recruitment initiatives include ongoing general service and direct entry recruitment, the re-entry schemes and the "Be More" recruitment campaign. As part of a Naval Service-specific recruitment campaign, a Naval Service recruitment advertisement launched last week and will be rolled out across all media platforms in the coming weeks. A contract has recently been awarded to a marine specialist recruitment body to target individuals with the skills and expertise required by the Naval Service. The maximum age of entry was recently increased to 29 years for general service recruits, cadets, Air Corps apprentices and certain specialists. In addition, the Defence Forces have established a joint induction training centre in Gormanston with a view to increasing the throughput of recruits. A range of financial and non-financial retention measures have been introduced by the Government such as service commitment schemes, tax measures and the recent agreement to further extend the service of post-1994 privates, corporals and sergeants, allowing for their continuance in service to the end of 2024.

There has also been significant progress on pay. Current pay rates, including military service allowances for recruits on completion of their training, start at €37,147 in year 1, rising to €38,544 in year 2 and €39,832 in year 3 of service. On commissioning, a school-leaver cadet is paid €41,123. After two years, such cadets are promoted to lieutenant and their pay rises to €46,406. Where a graduate joins, the pay rate on commissioning begins at €46,406.

My immediate focus is on stabilising the numbers of personnel in the Defence Forces and thereafter increasing strength to meet the agreed level of ambition arising from the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.

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