John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of existing members of the Defence Forces who have been commissioned as officers both through the cadet school and through commission from the ranks competitions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33994/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The current strength of officers in the Permanent Defence Force is 1,359. Of these, 1,155 were commissioned through the Cadet School, 67 were commissioned from the Ranks (Potential Officer Course), and 137 were commissioned by Direct Entry Competition. Significant progress has been made recently in implementing schemes to enable more commissioning from the ranks.

The revised cadetship competition is now seen as the primary means of commissioning from the ranks. The cadetship competition has been revised to increase the maximum entry age to 28 and to award bonus marks to candidates with previous experience in the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) or Reserve Defence Force (RDF).

Results for the 2006 and 2007 cadetship competitions were encouraging with a total of 23 applicants with military service in the Defence Forces being successful in the 2006 cadetship competition and a further 18 applicants with military service being successful in the 2007 cadetship competition.

In addition, in the past two years, 3 members of the Defence Forces were commissioned as officers from Direct Entry Competitions for appointments as Engineer Officers in the Corps of Engineers and Conductors in the Army School of Music. A further two Enlisted Personnel have been successful in the recent Direct Entry Competition to fill Aeronautical Engineer Officers vacancies in the Air Corps.

An internal Commissioning From the Ranks competition was held in June 2007. This competition provided an opportunity for enlisted personnel who have passed the cadet entry age to compete for entry on a Potential Officers Course and ultimately, a commission. As a result of the competition a total of 24 applicants (23 males and 1 female) have been selected from the ranks of Junior and Senior Non-commissioned Officers and have been in training in the Cadet School in the Curragh since 30 July 2007.