Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the strength of the Naval Service by number of personnel and rank in each year since 2010, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20071/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The attached table shows the strength of Naval Service Personnel (Whole Time Equivalent), by rank, for each year from 2010 to 2018.

The Government remains committed to maximising recruitment to increase the strength of the Naval Service and the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) overall and to retaining the capacity of the PDF to operate effectively across all roles.

The Public Service Pay Commission are currently examining recruitment and retention issues in the Defence Forces and I look forward to reviewing their findings and recommendations in due course.