Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-16
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

I thank the Deputy. As of 31 October 2025, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,760 personnel, consisting of 6,237 Army, 739 Air Corps and 784 Naval Service personnel, as well as over 400 civilian members.
On foot of the recommendations from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, the Government approved a move, over a six-year period, to a level of Permanent Defence Force capability equivalent to level of ambition 2. This will require an additional 2,000 personnel, including a civilian component, beyond the 9,500 establishment figure that was set at the time of the commission's report. The establishment figure for the Permanent Defence Force has increased incrementally since 2022 to 9,739 to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.
Working towards the achievement of level of ambition 2, budget 2026 provided a record allocation of €1.49 billion for the defence sector, an increase of €145 million on the previous year. These funds include provision for the recruitment of a net 400 additional Permanent Defence Force members per annum. In order to meet Government targets, the Defence Forces are making concerted efforts to ramp up recruitment. Increased training capacity is being progressed. I recently visited the Joint Induction Training Centre which has been established in Gormanston camp in my constituency in Meath and provides initial training to recruits from all three branches of the Defence Forces. There is a huge amount of investment going into the accommodation, the gym area and the canteen to ensure we can increase the number of personnel who can go through Gormanston camp and be trained. The Defence Forces advise that when fully operational, the centre will facilitate the training of up to 900 recruits per annum.
Last year saw a stabilisation in numbers with 708 inductions to the Permanent Defence Force and the military authorities have advised that they are targeting over 750 inductions for 2025, which is expected to result in an increase in the total strength of the Permanent Defence Force. There continues, thankfully, to be very strong interest in a career in the Defence Forces.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16