John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the current total strength of Air Corps personnel; and the breakdown of the number of qualified military pilots, cadet pilots in training, qualified military aircraft maintenance technicians, qualified military avionics technicians and military apprentices in training of both disciplines. [5216/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the military authorities that the strength of the Air Corps, as at 31st December 2021 (latest date for which such data is available) is 751 wholetime equivalent personnel.

The table below shows the strength by requested stream:

Of the 171 qualified Military Aircraft Technicians, 33 are currently employed in avionics and 138 in maintenance. A Military Aircraft technician is an individual who has qualified from the Air Corps Apprenticeship, or Direct Entrants deemed to have the suitable qualifications, to work on aircraft in the various maintenance roles. The phrase 'aircraft technician' is an umbrella term which covers the broad range of disciplines within the Air Corps across a range of ranks and across a range of disciplines, from avionics technician to aircraft mechanic, from crew leader to aircraft inspector.

As outlined above, there is a strong training pipeline for Military Aircraft Technicians consisting of 67 apprentices. Of these apprentices, 23 are undergoing basic military training along with 2 Direct Entry Aircraft Technicians. The remaining 44 apprentices are undergoing their qualification process and will be streamed into Rotary, Fixed Wing or avionics technician categories during that process.

My focus remains on retaining/restoring all branches of the Defence Forces to their full capacity. Additionally, the Commission on the Defence Forces is finalising its work with a view to completing their report as soon as possible. The Commission’s Report, when submitted, will be fully considered at that point.