Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 631: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of new recruits in the Reserve Defence Forces in the Western Brigade in 2012; if he will provide a breakdown of the new recruits in each branch of the Western Brigade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35051/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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To date in 2012 a total of 87 new recruits have been recruited into the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) in 4 Western Brigade. The following table provides a breakdown of the units within 4 Western Brigade into which these 87 recruits have been enlisted.

Recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) is ongoing but limited due to resource constraints. The current budgetary provision provides for approximately 30,000 paid training mandays. In 2011 and 2012, I sanctioned paid training mandays to include support for the training of new recruits to the RDF. This was sufficient to train approximately 400 recruits during 2011 and 2012. The military authorities manage recruitment in this context.