Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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495. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will support the Reserve Defence Force recommendation for the White Paper on Defence (details supplied). [37513/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am fully committed to the future development of the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) and the White Paper on Defence sets out a range of measures to further enhance the capabilities and utility of the RDF over its lifetime.

The immediate challenge for both the Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve is to recruit and train sufficient personnel to meet the respective establishments. A major recruitment campaign last year did not achieve the desired effect with the process yielding only 152 inductees. Following a review of last year’s campaign a number of changes were introduced. The most recent returns indicate that there have been 314 inductees to date in 2015 and this is a welcome improvement on last year’s figure. The military authorities estimate that there will also be a further 100 inductees by year end. The Defence Forces will continue to strive to improve the level of RDF recruitment in 2016.

While recruitment is an immediate challenge, the retention of members is also a key requirement in order to meet strength targets. The implementation of measures set out in the White Paper will provide opportunities for certain members of the Reserve to undertake duties. I believe that this will be a key motivating factor in encouraging more people to join the Reserve as well as making it more attractive for current members to stay. I am confident that the measures for the Reserve outlined in the White Paper will, in due course, lead to a more vibrant RDF which will deliver enhanced military capabilities for the benefit of the State.