Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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566. To ask the Minister for Defence when he will open recruitment for the Defence Forces; the recruitment process which applicants would need to undertake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8881/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Military Authorities that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force, at 31 January 2014, the latest date for which details are available, was 9,198, comprising, 7,403 Army, 775 Air Corps and, 1,020 Naval Service personnel. Recruitment of personnel to the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps is determined in line with the operational requirements of each of the three services. As the Permanent Defence Force is currently below the agreed stabilised strength of 9,500, it is my intention that targeted recruitment will continue this year within the resource envelope allocated to Defence. To that end, it is planned to run a new General Service recruitment competition this year and this will be launched shortly. Details of the competition will be made available on the Defence Forces website when the competitions commence. Recruitment of Cadets, Air Corps Apprentices and Naval Service Engine Room Artificers is also planned for 2014.

Application for General Service Recruitment to the Defence Forces is conducted on-line and all correspondence is conducted via e-mail. Candidates must successfully complete fitness testing, online psychometric testing, interview and psychometric testing verification in order to progress through the competition. Following these stages of the recruitment process, successful applicants may be placed on panels and may be offered a position, subject to successfully completing a medical examination and obtaining Garda Síochána Security Clearance. With the support of the Chief of Staff and within the resources available, I intend to retain the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles and to undertake the tasks laid down by Government both at home and overseas.