Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-16
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

We are all committed to strengthening recruitment to and supporting retention in the Permanent Defence Force. The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,823 personnel on 31 May, the most recent date for which we have a figure available. Last year saw modest though significant growth of nearly 200 in the overall strength, with a total of 790 inductions achieved. This is the highest number we have had in 20 years. The number of personnel who discharged was at its lowest level in more than five years. I am determined to build on this and have set a target of 850 inductions for 2026. As of 31 May - again these are the most up-to-date figures available - there were a total of 289 inductions, comprising 188 into the Army, 26 into the Air Corps and 75 into the Naval Service. I am pleased that there continues to be very strong interest in careers in the Defence Forces, with a total of 16,510 applications received in 2025 and over 10,000 applications received to end May of this year. The challenge now is to ensure that the target of 850 is achieved.
A draft strategic workforce plan prepared by the Defence Forces has recently been submitted to me for consideration. As the Deputy will be aware, the aim of this process is to provide a pathway to the achievement of a strength of 11,500, inclusive of civilian personnel, commensurate with level of ambition 2. Increases in application numbers and in the overall strength of the Permanent Defence Force over the past three years demonstrate that the key enabling measures the Government has introduced to support and drive Defence Forces recruitment and retention are yielding results. I appreciate it is slow and we need to maintain that momentum and do even more. These measures include significant progress on pay, increases in the maximum ages of recruitment and retirement respectively, the extension of private secondary healthcare to all personnel, the application of the provisions of the working time directive - which had been sought for some time - subject to certain exemptions, and increases in patrol duty allowance.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:17+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-16