Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on the Office of Reserve Affairs. [31254/25]

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the strength of the Reserve Defence Force as of 31 May 2025 or the latest date available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31117/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 58 together.

The military authorities have advised that, as of 30 April 2025, the latest date for which such figures are available, the effective strength of Second Line Reserve was 1,618 personnel and the strength of the First Line Reserve stood at 173 personnel.

The Defence Forces Office of Reserve Affairs (ORA) was established in line with a recommendation from the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF). ORA is a fully integrated office comprised of Permanent Defence Force (PDF) and Reserve Defence Force (RDF) personnel.

The strength of the RDF is a key focus of ORA and one of their priorities was the development of the RDF Regeneration and Development Plan, which was published in July 2024. This Plan has 27 actions, to drive forward recruitment and retention; resourcing; training and education; as well as integration and deployment, with the ultimate goal of developing a Reserve Force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy on a voluntary basis with the Permanent Defence Force, both nationally and overseas.

Recruitment measures that continue to support this objective include:

• The increase in upper recruitment and mandatory retirement ages for the RDF to match comparable increases for the Permanent Defence Force.
• The implementation of a 'Managed Induction Process' whereby a Recruitment Liaison Officer (RLO) maintains contact with applicants throughout the induction process to facilitate an expeditious and efficient recruitment process from application to attestation.
• An on-boarding process which enables candidates undergo pre-attestation recruit training.