Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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100. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of applications received by his Department for recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force in 2015; the number of recruits who were offered membership; the reason others were unsuccessful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39684/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the military authorities that to date in 2015 the Defence Forces have completed, or are in the process of completing, the processing of 4,098 applications for the Reserve Defence Force. This figure includes 1,374 applications from the recruitment competition that commenced on 7 of September, 2015 and the remaining applications are from previous competitions. The 4,098 applications are broken down as follows:

-1,899 applications have been unsuccessful due to ineligible applications, withdrawal of applications or failure to turn up at the medical/fitness or interview stage,

-384 applications have been unsuccessful at the fitness, medical, interview or security clearance stages,

-344 people have been attested, and

-1,471 applications are in various stages of the recruitment process.

I believe that the Reserve Defence Force is an important asset to the State. I value the contribution of all of its members who volunteer their time and service so willingly and I am fully committed to its ongoing and future development in line with the developmental path set out in the White Paper.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Defence given the low levels of participation in the Reserve Defence Force, if he will instigate a national recruitment drive; if he will use national and social media in this campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39685/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the military authorities that the 2015 recruitment competition for the Reserve Defence Force commenced on 7of September, 2015. This competition remains open to applicants and there is no fixed closing date. According to the military authorities, there have been 1,374 applications received so far.I am further informed by the military authorities that advertisements announcing the opening of this competition were placed in a large number of regional newspapers and that notification of the competition remains on the Defence Forces’ website and the Defence Forces’ FaceBook page.