Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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28. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the current agreed establishment numbers required for the Naval Service; the current strength; the number of personnel available for sea-going duties; the steps being taken to retain and recruit personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6064/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The military authorities have advised me that the strength of the Naval Service, as at 31 December 2024, the latest date for which this figure is available, stood at 719 personnel of an agreed establishment strength of 1,094.

There are approximately 150 persons currently in full time training and therefore not available for assignment to Sea Going duties without significant disruption to their training. The majority of trained personnel in the Naval Service are available for seagoing duties. Some do not deploy to sea due to their rank and responsibilities ashore.

Staffing challenges in the Defence Forces, and more specifically in the Naval Service, have been previously acknowledged. To address these a number of initiatives are currently in train. These include a doubling of the Patrol Duty allowance after ten days at sea, the extension of the Naval Service tax credit for a further five years, the outsourcing of elements of the recruitment process for the Naval Service and the engagement of a marine specialists’ recruitment body to target skilled individuals required by the Naval Service while significant upgrades in accommodation are continuing.

These initiatives are in addition to a range of other measures that we have implemented for the Defence Forces as a whole including the extension of private medical care to all personnel, an increase in the maximum age of retirement to 62 and the age of recruitment for General Service/Cadets to 39, and to 50 for Direct Entry specialists and the application of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces last month.

There has been significant progress on pay for the Defence Forces. Following the most recent pay increases under the Public Service Pay Agreement 2024-2026 , as of 1st October 2024 the pay of recruits on completion of training starts at €40,298 for a Private 3 star, while a school leaver Cadet on commissioning is paid €44,216 and the pay rate for a graduate entrant on commissioning begins at €49,552. A further 2% pay increase is due on 1 March 2025.

Budget 2025 has provided a total allocation of €1.35 billion for the Defence Sector for 2025 which includes a provision for the recruitment and training of at least a net additional 400 Defence Forces personnel in 2025.

Whilst challenges undoubtedly remain, significant progress has been made across a range of fronts and the allocation of record levels of expenditure to the Defence sector is illustrative of my commitment in this regard.