Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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7. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of members of the Defence Forces that have exited the services by retirement and resignation in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [10082/20]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The following table outlines the number of Defence Forces discharges in each of the years 2017 to end April 2020.

DEFENCE FORCES DISCHARGES

*as at 30 Apr 2020

There are a range of reasons why personnel discharge from the Defence Forces.

Discharge by purchase occurs when a Non Commissioned Officer or Private elects to resign from the Defence Forces and pays an appropriate sum to discharge, in accordance with Defence Force Regulation A10 Para 61 (3). Recruits can also elect to discharge by purchase and a significant proportion of recruits, approximately 22% on average, depart from the Defence Forces during the training phase for various reasons.

Voluntary early retirements occur when personnel wish to end their service at break points before reaching the mandatory retirement age limit for his/her respective rank. These retirements occur at the persons own request, at his/her request after 12 years, expiry of PDF service, on pension after 21 years, or on termination of engagement.

Other discharges include retirement on age grounds, death, below medical standards, service no longer required, or unlikely to become effective.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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8. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the average buy-out fee that serving soldiers were asked to pay to end their contract in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [10083/20]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The following table provides details of the number of Defence Forces personnel that discharged by purchase in each of the years 2017 to end April 2020, the amount received by the Department and the average cost for these discharges.

DEFENCE FORCES - DISCHARGE BY PURCHASE

*To 30/04/2020

It should be noted however, that the average cost is not reflective of the amount paid by the majority of personnel. Of the 1,049 personnel who have discharged by purchase since 2017, 46% have paid discharge costs of less than €100, with a further 46% paying between €100 and €300.

Discharge by purchase occurs when a Non Commissioned Officer or Private elects to leave the Defence Forces and pays an appropriate sum to discharge, in accordance with Defence Force Regulation A10 Para 61 (3). Recruits can also elect to discharge by purchase and a significant proportion of recruits, approximately 22% on average, depart from the Defence Forces during the training phase for various reasons.

Monetary sums in relation to discharge by purchase are assessed on a case by case basis depending on years of service, undertaking etc. The guidelines associated with determination of the amount payable on discharge are contained within DFR A10 Para 58(H), DFR A10 Para 61 and DFR A15 Para 19(2).