Written answers
Thursday, 10 May 2018
Department of Defence
Defence Forces Personnel Data
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of non-commissioned officers that have retired from each branch of the Defence Forces in each of the past five years to date; his plans for their replacement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20721/18]
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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55. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of commissioned officers that have retired from each branch of the Defence Forces in each of the past five years to date; his plans for their replacement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20722/18]
Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 55 together.
The Permanent Defence Force has always had a level of turnover that far exceeds other areas of the public service. This is a necessary feature of military organisations and allows for continuous renewal, promotions etc.
The following table sets out the numbers of commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers that left for each of the years from 2002 to 2017.
| - | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT GEN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| MAJ GEN | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| BRIG GEN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| COL | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 8 | |
| LT COL | 13 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 16 | |
| COMDT | 20 | 19 | 12 | 19 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 33 | 21 | 38 | 31 | 20 | 28 | 22 | 35 | 23 | |
| CAPT | 13 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 30 | 21 | 20 | |
| LT | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 6 | |
| SGT MAJOR | 4 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| BQMS | 9 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | |
| CS/FS/BS | 18 | 16 | 22 | 9 | 16 | 28 | 16 | 22 | 32 | 26 | 36 | 11 | 19 | 20 | 25 | 21 | |
| CQMS/FQMS | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 19 | |
| SGT | 86 | 67 | 76 | 54 | 75 | 60 | 73 | 93 | 70 | 84 | 117 | 52 | 44 | 73 | 97 | 71 | |
| CPL | 90 | 80 | 62 | 60 | 68 | 85 | 70 | 59 | 82 | 79 | 110 | 55 | 39 | 70 | 47 | 57 |
Discharges from the Defence Forces are recorded under a number of headings without a specific definition of retirement which can be either voluntary or involuntary. The headings range from "at their own request", purchase of discharge, end of contract or reaching age limits.
The White Paper on Defence recognises that continuous recruitment is the lifeblood of the Defence Forces; providing young, motivated and enthusiastic personnel to replenish military formations for operational deployments. The recruitment plan proposed by the Defence Forces envisages 800 new entrants being inducted across all services and competition streams in 2018. Promotions are also ongoing throughout the Defence Forces.
With the support of the Chief of Staff and within the resources available, the Government is committed to retaining 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.
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