Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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180. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the permanent and reserve units (details supplied) that have been disbanded since 1998; the date of disbandment of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38704/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy was not readily available. I will revert to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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181. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the logistics and medical facilities that have been closed since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38705/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have sought clarification from the Deputy on the information sought. Once this clarification is received, I will revert to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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182. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the Permanent Defence Forces annual recruitment since 2000 to date; and the breakdown per service, corps, enlisted personnel and officers in tabular form. [38706/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The military authorities advise that it is not possible to collate the required information in the time available. I will revert to the Deputy when the information has been gathered.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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183. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the Reserve Defence Forces annual recruitment since 2000 to present; and the breakdown per service, corps, enlisted personnel and officers in tabular form. [38707/21]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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185. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the Reserve Defence Forces figures for those leaving the organisation since 2000; and the breakdown per service, corps, enlisted personnel and officers in tabular form. [38709/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 183 and 185 together.

The table below details the number of Reserve Defence Force (RDF) members inducted and discharged on an annual basis from 2012 to 31 May, 2021, broken down by Army Reserve (AR) and Naval Service Reserve (NSR).

While it is not possible to provide a further breakdown of this data within the timeframe for this response, I will revert to the Deputy with the additional information requested, when available.

Please note the following:

*2021 data is as at 31^stMay 2021

The data provided for 2012 to 2019 inclusive is as at 31 Dec of each year

Data includes all ranks in each service within the RDF

Unfortunately the information requested by the Deputy for the years 2000 to 2011 inclusive is not available in the format sought. The work involved in investigating and extracting records would require significant human resources.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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184. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the Permanent Defence Forces figures for those leaving the organisation since 2000; and the breakdown per service, corps, enlisted personnel and officers in tabular form. [38708/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The military authorities advise that it is not possible to collate the required information in the time available. I will revert to the Deputy as soon as the information is made available to me.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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186. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel deployed on overseas missions since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38710/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As of 1 July 2021, Ireland is contributing 579 personnel to 10 different missions throughout the world. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with 351 personnel and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria with 137 personnel.

The Defence Forces have a long and distinguished history of overseas service. Since 1958, the Defence Forces have maintained a worldwide continuous overseas presence on peace support operations numbering in excess of 71,000 individual tours of duty.

From January 2000 to December 2020, in excess of 28,000 individual tours of duty have been conducted by members of the Defence Forces.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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187. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the current position on the first line reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38711/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The strength of the First Line Reserve (FLR) is 262 members, as of 31 May 2020. As outlined in the White Paper on Defence, the Government has decided to retain the FLR.

The existing regulatory framework provides for former members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) to join the Army Reserve or Naval Service Reserve. This is subject to their meeting certain criteria. Direct entry to the FLR is limited to personnel who are departing the PDF and have undertaken, either voluntarily or on foot of a contractual commitment, to complete a period of service in the FLR.

A review of the regulatory framework underpinning the FLR, with a view to presenting proposals on terms and conditions of membership, is due to commence upon completion of the projects arising from the High Level Implementation Plan (HLIP) "Strengthening Our Defence Forces". As the Deputy will be aware, significant progress has been made in relation to the HLIP and the majority of projects have been finalised.

As part of its terms of reference, the Commission on the Defence Forces will examine the role and contribution of the Reserve Defence Force (RDF), including its legislation, the regulations governing the RDF, and the development of the FLR. The Commission is due to report at the end of the year.

In the interim, where the Military Authorities submit applications for the purposes of meeting a specialist capability gap in the PDF, they will be considered by me under the provisions of the current regulatory framework, on a case by case basis.