Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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7. To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to expand the Army Reserve. [34447/15]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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This question allows the Minister to expand on some of the views and policies he set out in the White Paper on the Army Reserve. He has indicated that he is embarking on a programme of recruitment but there is real concern about the declining membership and the declining level of participation and we would like to hear his plans.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue because it is a matter on which we agree. There was a perception among some in the reserve that it would be phased out. I certainly hope the White Paper has put that fear to bed. There is a strong role for reservists in Ireland. The policy now is that they train as one entity with the Defence Forces and we want to build the strength of the reserve and ensure we get quality people.

The White Paper on Defence sets out a development path for the Reserve Defence Force, RDF, which builds upon recent initiatives. It sets out clear roles for the RDF which are to augment the Permanent Defence Force in crisis situations and to contribute to State ceremonial events.

The focus for the Reserve Defence Force will be on achieving a level of capability that can quickly and safely allow for the provision of aid to the civil power, ATCP, supports, aid to the civil authority, ATCA, supports, and barrack duty and associated supports. This will ensure that the RDF has the flexibility to augment the Permanent Defence Force in the event of a broad range of crisis situations. The development of higher levels of capability such as for conventional military operations in defence of the State will require an appropriate extended training lead time.

As the Deputy is aware, the Army Reserve, AR, and the Naval Service Reserve, NSR, are currently significantly under strength. As at the end of August 2015 the effective strength of the Army Reserve was 2,175 and this represents 56% of the establishment. The current establishment for the four Naval Service Reserve units is 200 and this will be expanded to 300, an increase of 25 for each unit. The effective strength of the Naval Service Reserve as at the end of August 2015 was 144 personnel, representing 48% of the revised planned establishment. As outlined in the White Paper, Reserve Defence Force organisational structures will be kept under review but there are no plans for further changes or expansion.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The immediate challenge for both the AR and NSR is to recruit and train sufficient personnel to meet the respective establishments. A major recruitment campaign last year did not achieve the desired effect with the process yielding only 152 inductees. Following a review of last year's campaign, a number of changes were introduced. The most recent returns indicate that there have been 300 inductees to date and this is a welcome improvement on the mid-year position, which I reported on last week. The military authorities estimate that there will also be a further 100 inductees by year end. The Defence Forces will continue to strive to improve the level of RDF recruitment in 2016.

While recruitment is an immediate challenge, the retention of members is also a key requirement in order to meet strength targets. The implementation of measures set out in the White Paper will provide opportunities for certain members of the reserve to undertake duties. I believe that this will be a key motivating factor in encouraging more people to join the reserve as well as making it more attractive for current members to stay.

I am confident that the measures set out in the White Paper will, in due course, lead to a more vibrant RDF which will deliver enhanced military capabilities for the benefit of the State.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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As we know, the RDF is a committed volunteer force that gives of its time in the service of the State and the vast proportion of that time is unpaid. We can look at international best practice and see that countries with a small military capability tend to have a very large part-time reserve to call on. That, unfortunately, is not the situation here. When I read the White Paper, I thought there appeared to be a strong commitment on the part of the Minister and the Department of Defence to the reserve. However, when I spoke to people who are actively involved, they were not reassured by the objectives set out in the White Paper. They have told me that there are practical continual difficulties, that recruitment is being made continually difficult and that the type of reserve the Minister and I speak about here is not being achieved because of the practical impediments on the ground.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The immediate challenge for both the Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve is to recruit and train sufficient personnel to meet the respective establishments. A major recruitment campaign last year did not achieve the desired effect with the process yielding only 152 inductees. Following a review of last year's campaign, a number of changes have been introduced. The most recent returns indicate that there have been 300 inductees to date and this is a welcome improvement on the mid-year position. Progress is being made but it is slow and not as fast as I would wish. I want to send a clear signal that I want more people in the reserve. I want them to apply but they must be the right kind of people in terms of being fit for the job, both physically and mentally. We cannot allow everybody in. This is a serious commitment. It is one that many people will enjoy and get much from. I invite people to apply during the recruitment campaign that is under way. It will take time to build up the reserve but we will do it and are fully committed to it.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I accept the Minister's bona fide on this issue but the difficulty rests within the operational capacity of both groups, the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force. We have created a single force but there is not the type of happy relationship between the two groups that would be necessary and conducive to achieving the development to which the Minister has referred. One of the particular difficulties is that the old military cadre that existed to work with, assist, promote and develop the reserve no longer exists. I gave the Minister the example at the meeting on the Estimates a few weeks ago. I accept his point that we need people who are fit and able and capable of doing the particular job. I gave the example of 100 people who, apparently, had passed the various tests and fitness tests but whose applications to join were dependent on Garda approval and the 100 applications were left sitting on a desk and not sent to the Garda Vetting Unit until it was too late.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am not sure about that. What I do know is that it is predicted there will be another 100 inductees by the end of the year, amounting to 400 this year which would be a significant improvement in terms of where we were but we have a long way to go. We approved the White Paper only a couple of months ago. That involves much positive change. In many ways we have a new chapter for the Defence Forces which will be very positive. Despite the fact that other parties want to reduce spending on defence, I am glad to say we will increase spending on defence to ensure our troops are safe and can do the peacekeeping jobs we ask them to do and that they have the right equipment to do that.

We will see growth in the Reserve and new and better equipment available for our Permanent Defence Forces. That is what I am trying to deliver, both through the White Paper and as a Minister. That will result in more people wanting to be part of the Reserve in the future. We will try to continue to adjust, assess and improve the recruitment process to make sure that happens.