Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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696. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his views on the statements made by an organisation (details supplied) to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence on 25 May 2021 that there is a shortage of specialist technicians within the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31327/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The challenges in recruiting and retaining certain specialists in the Air Corps and the wider Defence Forces have been acknowledged. This has been particularly the case in the buoyant economy that the country experienced, which resulted in strong demand for the skills that Defence Forces personnel acquire during their careers. A number of ‘pinch points’ exist in particular areas and civil and military management are actively engaged in considering measures to address these.

As many such specialties are developed in-house, in some cases this can result in a long lead in time to qualification. To fill vacancies in a speedier fashion, a range of alternative recruitment approaches have been developed further such as campaigns to recruit specialists by direct entry and the recommissioning and re-enlistment schemes.

The military authorities advise that the 2021 competition for Air Corps aircraft maintenance technicians, which closed on 31st March 2021, has resulted in 663 applications that are currently being processed. There are currently 60 apprentices in training with 15 imminent graduations and all due to complete by 2024.