Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 27: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of non-nationals who have enlisted in the Permanent Defence Forces, by reference to nationalities, ages and gender, in 2005 and in 2006 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38061/06]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the recent initiatives by An Garda Síochána to attract members of ethnic minority communities to the force; and if he has taken similar initiative in relation to the Defence Forces. [38175/06]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of immigrants who have been recruited into the Defence Forces in each of the past ten years; the measures he has taken to facilitate the recruitment of immigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38191/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 44 and 66 together.

Entry to the Permanent Defence Force is either through the Cadetship Competition, Apprenticeship Competition, General Service Enlistment or Direct Entry Competitions which are held to fill vacancies in specialist appointments. All applicants for each of these entry streams are required to meet qualifying criteria.

The question of the recruitment of foreign-nationals to the Defence Forces is not a new one and Defence Force Regulations have always allowed for the recruitment of foreign-nationals to the Defence Forces.

The operational requirements of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces are not directly comparable. My Department is not specifically targeting the recruitment of ethnic minorities for the Defence Forces at present. Currently my emphasis is on ensuring that there are no barriers to ethnic minorities or foreign nationals joining the Defence Forces.

As you are aware, I have made changes to the Cadet competition to broaden the entry criteria thereby making it easier for qualifying foreign nationals to apply for cadetships.

In addition, the Defence Forces Equality Policy underpins equality legislation and states that;

The Defence Forces are committed to the principles of equal opportunities in all employment policies, procedures and regulations.

The Defence Forces will operate in an environment without discrimination in areas as provided by the Equality Acts.

The Defence Forces will ensure that the principles of employment equality are employed in recruitment, promotion, training and work experience.

All regulations and Administrative Instructions concerning service in the Defence Forces shall be set out in a manner consistent with this policy of equal opportunity.

This policy will be reviewed along with the Defence Force regulations on an ongoing basis by the Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) to ensure compliance with best practice and to maintain a working environment that treats all members of the Defence Forces in a manner consistent with equal opportunities.

The primary focus in recruitment is to attract people with the core competencies required by the Defence Forces.

My Department and the Defence Forces are fully committed to ensuring that all (and that includes ethnic minorities and foreign-nationals) who wish to do so are given the opportunity to join the Defence Forces. In terms of statistics, it is not the Defence Forces approach to categorise personnel by nationality or place of birth.