James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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496. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of additional recruits to the Reserve Defence Force to date in 2020 with regard to each of the three services; the gender breakdown of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15612/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the military authorities that 32 new members have been inducted into the Army Reserve (AR) and Naval Service Reserve (NSR) from 1 January to 8 July 2020, broken down as follows:

While a recruitment campaign for the AR and NSR was opened in March 2020, the ability to conduct RDF inductions has been impacted heavily by the Covid 19 crisis.

The Government remains committed to on-going recruitment in the AR and NSR. I am advised that, while there are no specific dates as of yet, it is anticipated that another recruitment campaign for the AR and NSR will be opened in autumn 2020.