Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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361. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress that has been made in implementing the long service increments, contained in the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24313/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Commission on Defence Forces (CoDF) Report recommended that Long Service Increments be introduced to the pay scales of all ranks of enlisted personnel. This recommendation was identified as requiring Further Evaluation by Government in July 2022.

The further evaluation of this CoDF recommendation has concluded and discussions are ongoing with all the relevant stakeholders.

I would like to bring to the Deputy's attention that there has been significant progress on Defence Forces' pay and conditions in recent years. The pay of recruits on completion of training now starts at €41,465 in Year 1; school leaver Cadets upon commissioning earn €45,341, whilst in full time education and Graduate Cadets commence on €50,667; these rates are all inclusive of Military Service Allowance.

This is in addition to a range of other improvements in pay and conditions. These include an increase in the maximum recruitment age to 39 years; an increase in the mandatory retirement age to 62; the extension of private secondary healthcare to all PDF members' improvements to the Patrol Duty allowance payable to Naval Service personnel at sea, and extension of the naval service tax credit for a further five years. In January of this year, the provisions of the Working Time Directive were extended across the Defence Forces, subject to some exemptions.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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362. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence how many lance corporal ranked positions have been created in 2023, 2024, and 2025 year to date, in tabular form; what other retention tools have been deployed over the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24314/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. In the first instance it is important to note that, at present, that the Permanent Defence Forces do not contain the rank of Lance-Corporal.

However, the creation of a new enlisted rank of Lance-Corporal, in the Army and Air Corps, with consideration to be given as to whether there is a need for an equivalent rank in the Naval Service, was recommended by the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF recommendation #20, February 2022). This recommendation is under review.

The recruitment and retention challenges in the Defence Forces have been previously acknowledged. To address these, a range of measures have been implemented. 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, while 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 10 days at sea, while 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 €41,465 in Year 1, school leaver Cadets upon commissioning earn €45,341, whilst in full time education and the starting pay of a graduate cadet on commissioning is €50,667, inclusive of Military Service Allowance.

Defence Forces Management have engaged a Marketing and Media partner to assist with recruitment advertising to ensure engagement with the recruitment demographic across social media and other media platforms. Specific advertising for specialist recruitment is placed in industry specific publications and websites. The Defence Forces continue to broadcast this message through regular visits to schools and Education and Training Boards, in addition to frequent attendance at recruitment and career fairs/events. Furthermore, transition year students can avail of placements within the Defence Forces to undertake various programmes across a number of locations, demonstrating career opportunities.

Interest in a career in the Defence Forces increased robustly in 2024 with a total of 13,384 applications received across all competitions. This continues to be the case in 2025 with in excess of 2,000 applications have been received as of the 28th February, the latest date for which this figure is available.

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.

Whilst there are still undoubtedly challenges, significant progress has been 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.