Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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111. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the establishment figure, size, and numbers recruited and who left each branch of the Permanent and Reserve Defence Forces in the years 2019 to date, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4267/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The military authorities have provided the requested information as set out in the tables, A-D, inclusive, at the link below.

The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces recommended a move to Level of Ambition 2, which for the PDF includes an establishment of 11,500 personnel inclusive of a civilian component. The recommended establishment for the RDF is 4,500.

Staffing challenges in the Defence Forces have been acknowledged however figures provided by the Defence Forces for 2024 suggest a plateauing of the downward trend in numbers.

As regards the PDF, a number of measures have been introduced to address staffing challenges. These include an increase in recruitment age to 39 years for those roles that had a recruitment age below that, and to 50 years for Direct Entry Specialists. The mandatory retirement age has been increased to 62. Private secondary healthcare has been rolled out to all PDF members. The Patrol Duty allowance payable to Naval Service personnel at sea has been doubled after ten days at sea in a calendar year and the Naval Service tax credit has been extended for a further five years.

There has also been significant progress on pay in recent years. Recruits on completion of training now start at €40,297 in Year 1, while school leaver Cadets upon commissioning earn €44,216, whilst in full time education.

Interest in a career in the Defence Forces continues to rise as evidenced by the 13,348 applications received across all competitions in 2024.

Budget 2025 provided a record allocation of €1.35 billion for the Defence Sector, an increase of €100 million. In relation to specific recruitment targets, this allocation provides for the recruitment of at least a net additional 400 personnel per annum.

There are currently 3 branches of the Reserve Defence Force (RDF), namely the Army Reserve (AR), the Naval Service Reserve (NSR) and the First Line Reserve (FLR).

The First Line Reserve comprises former members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) and has no defined establishment. The Second Line Reserve, has an establishment of 4,069 personnel consisting of 3,869 Army Reserve (AR) and 200 Naval Service Reserve (NSR).

The Government remains committed to on-going recruitment to the RDF, and it is very encouraging that there has been a 300% increase in recruitment in 2024, compared to 2023. Various recruitment initiatives to ensure momentum are ongoing.

Whilst there are still undoubtedly challenges, significant progress is being made on a number of fronts and the allocation of record levels of expenditure to the Defence sector is illustrative of my intent in this regard.

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