Written answers

Thursday, 2 October 2025

Photo of Eoghan KennyEoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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221. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the plans to end Army reserve pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52651/25]

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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222. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the rationale for removing the training/attendance allowance for members of the Reserve Defence Forces when undergoing training; the allowances that are now available to members of the Reserve Defence Forces; and the number of new members that have signed up in the past year, by month. [52655/25]

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence to provide an update on the proposed reduction in pay of current Reserve Defence Force members for activities including marching drills and firing range practice, in particular taking into account the affect it may have on current members and recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52890/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 221, 222 and 233 together.

One of my key priorities is the modernisation of our Defence Forces, and revitalising our Reserve Defence Forces is a vital part of that transformation process. The Regeneration and Development Plan contains concrete actions to drive forward recruitment and retention, resourcing, training and education and integration and deployment.

The conditions under which reservists are paid for certain activities are set out in Defence Force Regulations (DFRs). There is no question of reservists losing payment for their activities or cut backs to activities that attract a sanctioned payment.

In 2023, the Defence Forces issued a letter of instruction (LOI) relating to such payments. The LOI was regrettably not consistent with the regulations.

Reservists are an integral part of the Defence Forces and should be remunerated appropriately. In that regard I have directed that the Defence Forces submit a robust business case to clearly set out exactly which reserve activities should attract payment. Any proposed changes to paid activities may require sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and a regulatory amendment. While this work is ongoing, the Defence Forces are working on possible solutions for Members of the RDF.

All eligible RDF activities in 2024 were paid for, reflected in the fact that the original 2024 budget allocation for the RDF was increased by 36 per cent during the year;

This additional spending reflected the higher than anticipated levels of activity and a welcome increased interest in the RDF during the year.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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223. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if his Department is satisfied that sufficient budgetary foresight was applied when barriers to recruitment for the Reserve Defence Forces were removed, given that internal documents show that, by November 2024, the existing budget was already insufficient to pay reservists for the remainder of the year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52674/25]

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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224. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence given that the budget for reserve training and support days was €3.01 million and exhausted during 2024, and supplementary funds assigned earlier in the year proved inadequate, will he provide for the reasons the supplementary funds were insufficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52675/25]

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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232. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the total amount of funding allocated to the Reserve Defence Forces for the years 2019 to 2024 inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52889/25]

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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234. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the action his Department is taking to ensure that the budget for Reserve Defence Forces for the coming year is sufficient to ensure the continued payment of current RDF members and the increase in recruitment numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52891/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 224, 232 and 234 together.

My key priority is the modernisation of the Defence Forces, and revitalising our Reserve Defence Forces is a vital part of that transformation process. The Regeneration and Development Plan contains concrete actions to drive forward recruitment and retention, resourcing, training and education and integration and deployment.

All eligible 2024 RDF activities were paid for, reflected in the fact that the original 2024 budget allocation for the RDF was increased by 36 per cent during the year. The original 2024 budget allocation for the RDF was proactively increased in Q4 2024 to meet evolving levels of RDF activity, with a further increase in the latter part of the year. This additional spending reflected the higher than anticipated levels of activity and a welcome increased interest in the RDF during the year.

The 2025 Vote 36 (Defence) has an allocation of €3.5 million for Subhead A.5 (Reserve Defence Force (RDF)). This represents an increase of €1.15 million (49%) on the corresponding allocation in 2024. Funding provides for paid training, miscellaneous allowances for the Army/ Naval Service Reserve and the payment of gratuities to members of the First Line Reserve. The increased 2025 expenditure emphasises my support for implementation of the RDF Regeneration and Development Plan.

The budget has grown substantially since 2019, as set out in the table below:

A.5 RDF Allocation
2019 €2,150,000
2020 €1,650,000
2021 €2,000,000
2022 €2,000,000
2023 €2,050,000
2024 €2,350,000
2025 €3,500,000

In advance of next week’s Budget, discussions are currently ongoing with regard to the 2026 Defence Vote Group Estimate, with any definitive decisions relating to RDF funding due to be finalised as part of Revised Estimates Volume (REV) processes later this year.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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225. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the estimates of the full-cost implications of recruitment, including increases in medicals, induction, training, support and pay for the remainder of 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52676/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Government policy with regard to defence spending is defined within the parameters of our national budgetary process and role of Dáil Éireann, with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform & Digitisation setting the macroeconomic context within which Estimates processes are set annually. Within these parameters, officials from my Department have been actively engaged in Estimates 2026 discussions over recent weeks. These discussions encompass all aspects of Defence spending, including pay, non-pay, capital and current expenditure considerations.

With the 2026 Budget set to be delivered on October 7th, budgetary discussions are nearing a conclusion and, building on progress made over recent years, I expect a positive outcome for my Department next week. Aligned with the provision of a 2026 funding envelope, I shortly expect to receive a Defence Forces recruitment plan from the Chief of Staff, the detail of which will further inform the 2026 recruitment costs involved.

For context, I would like to highlight the progress made in increasing defence spending over recent years, with the Defence Vote Group allocation increasing by €243 million (22%), from €1.107 billion in 2022 to €1.350 billion in 2025. This significant allocation included, inter alia, an overall pay allocation of €569 million on the Defence Vote, of which €469 million provided for the pay of an expected year-end PDF strength of 7,600 and the induction of a net additional 400 recruits in 2025 - at an estimated cost of €13 million.

In order to meet government targets, the Defence Forces are making concerted efforts to ramp up recruitment beyond this net figure. Last year saw a stabilisation in numbers with 708 PDF inductions, and the military authorities have advised that they are targeting up to 800 inductions for 2025, with a significant number of inductions scheduled over the coming weeks.

The inclusion of an increased non-pay advertising allocation of €3.2 million in 2025, an advertising increase of over 200% in three years, has also delivered further impetus to ongoing Defence Forces recruitment efforts.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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226. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the additional funding which has been allocated, or is planned to be allocated, in budget 2026 or via other mechanisms to ensure reservists are paid in a timely manner even during periods of unexpected recruitment growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52677/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Defence Vote was provided with a funding allocation of €1,021 million in Budget 2025. This represents an €88 million (9.4%) increase on the corresponding 2024 allocation and saw the Defence Vote exceed the €1 billion mark for the first time.

This significant level of funding is facilitating further progress and implementation of a range of recommendations and priorities as identified in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces (CODF), the Independent Review Group (IRG) on Dignity & Equality Issues in the Defence Forces and the Defence Policy Review.

The 2025 Vote 36 (Defence) allocation included an allocation of €3.5 million for Subhead A.5 (Reserve Defence Force (RDF): Pay, etc.). This represented an increase of €1.15 million (49%) on the corresponding allocation in 2024. This level of funding provides for paid training and miscellaneous allowances for the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve. It also provides for the payment of gratuities to members of the First Line Reserve. The increased expenditure in 2025 provides support for implementation of the RDF Regeneration and Development Plan.

In advance of next week’s Budget, discussions are currently ongoing with regard to the 2026 Defence Vote Group Estimate, with any definitive decisions relating to RDF funding due to be finalised as part of Revised Estimates Volume (REV) processes later this year.

My officials and the Defence Forces Office of Reserve Affairs (ORA) continue to monitor the budget and encourage increased levels of RDF activity, in support of the Permanent Defence Force.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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227. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the steps his Department is taking to ensure that recruitment surges do not lead to budget shortfalls; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52678/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2025 delivered an overall pay allocation of €569 million on the Defence Vote – 56% of the overall allocation. Of this overall allocation, €469 million provided for the pay of an expected year-end Permanent Defence Force (PDF) strength of 7,600 and the induction of a net additional 400 recruits in 2025 - at an estimated cost of €13 million.

All related pay and recruitment estimates are, in the first instance, collated by payroll personnel and include full consideration of all aspects of PDF pay, to include any prevailing National Pay Agreement impacts. In addition, as part of annual Estimates processes, internal pay and recruitment estimates are subjected to further rigorous external examination by the Central Expenditure Section within the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service, Reform & Digitalisation. Subsequent to the Budget, the Parliamentary Budgetary Office also examine the uncertainty levels related to the costs of the policy changes introduced in the Budget.

A comprehensive Defence Forces Recruitment Plan, approved by the Chief of Staff, informs the timing and phasing of Defence Forces recruits and must necessarily remain cognisant of the level of funding provided in any given year.

This level of attention to financial detail and intense levels of internal and external scrutiny, aligned with a comprehensive Defence Forces Recruitment Plan, ensures that there is sufficient pay funding available in the Defence Vote to provide for an agreed year-end PDF strength and to meet all stated recruitment targets.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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228. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he has considered adjusting the categorisation or employment status of reservists, including PRSI or other employment rights, to recognise the levels of service reservists provide, which appear to exceed the statutory or budgeted number of days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52679/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Defence has no role in the individual PRSI class of Members of the Defence Forces. The Department of Social Protection makes decisions with respect to the appropriate class of social insurance that applies in the case of a worker. Each case is determined on its own facts subject to the relevant legislative code. In the case of social insurance that is the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended).

Reserve Defence Force (RDF) members are engaged on a voluntary basis in support of the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF).

The Reserve Defence Force Regeneration and Development Plan recommended that employment protection legislation should be considered and discussed with employer representative bodies and Trade Unions to protect reservists and ensure their availability when needed. A review of employment protection measures has commenced, with the addition of external expertise. When the review is complete, recommendations will be brought forward on the types of employment protection legislation/ supports that should be implemented.

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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229. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will confirm whether all reservists who were not paid in full in late 2024 have since been paid in full; the timeframe for outstanding payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52680/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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All eligible RDF activities in 2024 were paid for, reflected in the fact that the original 2024 budget allocation for the RDF was increased by 36 per cent during the year. This additional spending reflected the higher than anticipated levels of activity and a welcome increased interest in the RDF during the year.

The original 2024 budget allocation for the RDF was proactively increased in Q4 2024 to meet evolving levels of RDF activity, with a further increase requested in the latter part of the year which was acceded to. The number of Reserve Training and Support Days (RTSDs) undertaken in 2024 totalled 28,762 days, an excess of 2,762 days over the original allocation of 26,000 days. It was confirmed that all amounts due by the 29 November 2024 – the payroll deadline for receipt of applications for payment in 2024 – would be paid within the 2024 calendar year. In summary, approved RTSD applications received by payroll on/before that date, in respect of duties completed by that date, were paid in 2024. This cut off is normal practice at year end.

A total of 23 reservists submitted RTSD applications on/before the 29 November 2024, which related to duties due to be undertaken post 29 November and these, with the exception of 2 reservists who were not due monies, due to previous overpayments, were paid in the next available payroll on 3 January 2025.

My officials and the Defence Forces Office of Reserve Affairs (ORA) are continuing to monitor RDF expenditure and an application to further increase the 2025 budget is currently being processed.

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