Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table.

-	31 December 2011	31 December 2012	31 December 2013	31 December 2014
Total PDF Strength	9,438	9,359	9,236	9,280

In relation to the figures in the table, the serving strength figures for 2013 and 2014 are the Whole Time Equivalent strengths. The fluctuation in strength is based on the serving strength at the end of the preceding year.

The Government is committed to maintaining the stabilised strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel, comprising of 7,520 Army, 886 Air Corps and 1,094 Naval Service.

A new General Service Recruitment competition was launched in March 2014. Recruitment from the panels established under this competition commenced on 18 August, 2014.

Targeted General Service recruitment will continue in 2015 from the recruitment panels formed from the current competition. It is planned that these panels will remain in place until they are exhausted in 2015. 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 assigned by Government both at home and overseas.