Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of officers and the number of enlisted personnel who have retired from the Permanent Defence Forces to date in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47273/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the military authorities that the strength of the Permanent Defence Forces as at 30 November 2010, the latest date for which figures are currently available, was 9,502 comprising 7,704 Army, 769 Air Corps and 1,029 Naval Service Personnel.

The number of officers and the number of enlisted personnel who have left the Permanent Defence Forces to date in 2010 is 43 and 425 respectively.

Within the context of consolidating the public finances, the Government is focused firmly on maintaining the operational efficiency of the Permanent Defence Force. Government approval was secured in the context of Budget 2010 for a level of 10,000 all ranks. This reflects the reductions in personnel recommended in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. In 2011, the Permanent Defence Force, like all areas of the public service, will operate on a reduced budget.

Agreement has been reached with the Department of Finance and official confirmation received, on the Employment Control Framework (ECF) for the Defence Forces. The ECF is based on a figure of 10,000 all ranks Permanent Defence Force personnel, appropriately configured across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps to enable them to meet the roles assigned by Government.

Targeted recruitment is being carried out in 2010 in order to maintain the operational capability of the Defence Forces. In this regard I have approved the recruitment of 40 recruits to the Naval Service, limited recruitment to the Army and the intake of 30 Cadets from the Cadetship Competition 2010. To date, 37 of the 40 recruits for the Naval Service were enlisted on 30 November 2010, along with 40 recruits to the Eastern Brigade and 37 recruits to the Southern Brigade on 3 and 6 December 2010 respectively. A further 3 recruits are due to be enlisted to each of the Naval Service and the Southern Brigade as soon as the final elements of their selection process have been completed. The 30 Cadets were inducted on 6 December 2010. The enlistment selection process to the Western Brigade and the Defence Forces Training Centre has commenced with enlistment of successful candidates scheduled to take place in January 2011.

While it is not possible to anticipate strength figures for 2011 and beyond, I can confirm that with the support of the Chief of Staff, and within the resources available, I intend to retain the capacity of the organisation to operate effectively across all roles while contributing to the necessary public service economies.

The priority in the coming year will be on maintaining the capability of the Defence Forces to deliver effective services across all of the roles assigned by Government.

I am advised that at this time the Defence Forces retain the capacity to undertake the tasks laid down by Government both at home and overseas.