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

There are currently three branches of the Reserve Defence Force, namely, the Army Reserve, the Naval Service Reserve and the First Line Reserve. The First Line Reserve comprises former members of the Permanent Defence Force and has no defined establishment. The Second Line Reserve, consisting of the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve, has an establishment of 4,069 personnel. As of 31 August 2024, the effective strength of the Second Line Reserve stood at 1,553, which is comprised of 1,456 Army Reserve personnel and 97 Naval Service Reserve personnel. On the same date, the strength of the First Line Reserve stood at 167 personnel. The RDF is organised on a regional basis in 28 individual locations throughout the State and units operate as sub-units of parent Permanent Defence Force units in accord with the single force concept model. A table containing the strength of the RDF by formation or service or both has been compiled and will be provided to the Deputy.

The future structure and strength of the RDF is a key focus of the Defence Forces office of Reserve affairs, which was established in line with a recommendation of the Commission on the Defence Forces report, along with the full-time appointment of a director in that office at the rank of colonel. I was anxious to drive that and to get it done.

In addition to the issue of general recruitment into the RDF, a priority for the office of Reserve affairs was the development of the RDF regeneration and development plan, which was published in July last. This plan contains 27 concrete actions, which will be led by the Defence Forces with the support of my officials, to drive forward recruitment and retention, resourcing, training and education, and integration and deployment, with the ultimate goal of developing a reserve force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy on a voluntary basis with the Permanent Defence Force, both nationally and overseas.

It is very encouraging to report that, as of 31 July, a total of 201 members have been inducted in 2024, comprising 180 Army Reserve personnel and 21 Naval Service Reserve personnel. This is an increase of some 200% over the number inducted in 2023. In addition, the number of personnel undertaking training and training days completed has already surpassed the total for 2023.

See this speech in context