Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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1465. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the measures that have been taken or are planned to develop employment opportunities in the Defence Forces for young persons in the 18 to 24 age group in disadvantaged areas. [19545/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The White Paper on Defence committed the Government to putting in place a new employment support scheme with the direct involvement of the Defence Forces. A successful pilot programme was held in Gormanston Camp from 20 June 2016 to 26 August 2016 with 25 participants. Following an evaluation of the pilot programme and Ministerial approval, the current plan is to run 2 iterations of the programme in 2017. The objective of this 10-week scheme is to help develop a path to economic independence for participants, aged between 18 and 24 years, who are at a serious disadvantage owing to their current socio-economic situation. The scheme is designed with the specific aim of equipping participants with life and other marketable and certifiable skills which will assist them both in their capacity to participate fully in society as well as their ability to enter the workforce and or to pursue further education for this purpose. The plan is to run two iterations of the programme in 2017.

The first iteration of the programme will commence in Limerick on 22 May 2017. There are 30 places on the programme and the selection process is ongoing. Participants retain any Department of Social Protection benefits that they are currently entitled to for the duration of the Scheme. Participation on the scheme is wholly voluntary for the relevant cohort of jobseekers and there is no penalty applied for non-participation or engagement in the programme. Participants do not receive any payment from the Department of Defence.

With regard to general employment opportunities in the Defence Forces, the Defence Forces are planning to induct 860 new entrants across all services and competition streams in 2017. Recruitment will continue in 2017 from the panels formed following the 2016 General Service Recruitment competition, until they are exhausted. In addition, a new General Service Recruitment campaign was launched on 23 February 2017, as part of the Government’s commitment to maintain the strength of the Defence Forces at 9,500 personnel. A recruitment campaign for apprentices will be launched later this year.

The intake of Cadets into the Permanent Defence Force is normally carried out on an annual basis, taking into consideration the operational requirements of the Defence Forces and the resource envelope allocated to Defence. The 2017 Cadetship competitions were launched on 22 March 2017. Cadetships will be available in the following streams in 2017: Army (Line, Equitation School & Engineer Corps), Naval Service (Operations Branch, Marine Engineer Branch and Electrical Engineering Branch) and Air Corps (Pilots).Direct Entry Competitions are also held as required from which specialist appointments are filled. A recruitment campaign for the appointment of Direct Entry Naval Service Officers, in the Operations Branch, Marine Engineer Branch and Electrical Engineer Branch of the Naval Service, is currently ongoing. In addition, there is an open ended recruitment drive to recruit Medical Officers to the Defence Forces.