Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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111. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of personnel who entered and left, respectively, the Permanent Defence Force in each of the years 2017 and 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21994/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The following table contains the information requested by the Deputy and, to provide context, also includes comparable figures from 2002.

*as of 31st March 2019

It should be noted that, on average, over 20% of those that leave have not completed their induction training.

The Government remains committed to ongoing recruitment to the Defence Forces to return to, and maintain, the establishment level of 9,500 personnel as set out in the White Paper on Defence 2015 and it is anticipated that some 800 personnel will be inducted in 2019. Traditionally, significant inductions take place in the latter part of the year.