James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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339. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the strength of the Permanent Defence Force as of 31 December 2020; if he will provide a breakdown of all ranks across the three services and the gender breakdown of same in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5521/21]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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341. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of additional recruits to the Permanent Defence Force in 2020 with regard to all three services; the gender breakdown of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5523/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 339 and 341 together.

The linked table outlines the strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF), as at 31 December 2020, broken down by service and gender.

A total of 538 personnel were inducted to PDF in 2020 comprised of 385 General Service recruits, 69 cadets, 20 Air Corps apprentices, 7 Direct Entry personnel, 42 re-enlisted personnel and 15 re-commissioned officers.

The table below contains the requested breakdown of the 385 General Service recruits:

With the support of the Chief of Staff, I remain committed to maximising recruitment of both men and women to retain 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 abroad.