Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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136. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if a recruitment drive for aircraft maintenance technicians for the Air Corps will occur before the end of 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39778/18]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Competitions for the Air Corp Apprentice Aircraft Technician are generally run on an annual basis and successful applicants complete a programme of military and technical training in Casement Aerodrome and with the Dublin Institute of Technology culminating in a Bachelor Engineering Technology Degree in Military Aviation Technology.

The 2018 competition, which ran from March until May, attracted some 930 applications and a total of 20 successful applicants were inducted into the Defence Forces on 24th September 2018.

While there are no plans to hold a further competition in 2018, it is anticipated that the Defence Forces will launch a similar campaign in 2019.