John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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409. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of planning operations by the Permanent Defence Forces which had to be cancelled in the past six months due to personnel shortages. [34660/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Defence Organisation provides a broad range of services in accordance with its primary security role while it also undertakes a diverse range of non security related tasks. The Defence Forces continue to carry out the roles assigned by Government, including security operations, critical supports to An Garda Síochána and ATCA supports to other Government Departments and Agencies. In particular, the Defence Force are playing an active and important role in the Covid 19 response, providing a broad range of supports to the HSE.

Notwithstanding the above, the Government has acknowledged the recruitment and retention issues in the Defence Forces that are resulting in operational challenges primarily across the Naval Service and Air Corps.

I can confirm that no planned air or land operations were cancelled due to personnel issues during the period in question, 01 May to 31 Oct 2020.

In addition I can confirm of a total of 524 planned ship days at sea in the Naval Service, 24 individual days were cancelled due to personnel issues during the period 01 May to 31 Oct 20.

A range of actions have been taken to date to address the recruitment and retention issues and a range of HR initiatives are being progressed which are aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the Defence Forces.

The Government is committed to retaining the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles and to undertake the tasks laid down by Government both at home and overseas.