91. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel required under level of ambition 2; the current establishment figure; and the current number within each service. [71896/25]

Sentiment score: 0.11

I would appreciate it if the Minister would inform the Dáil of the current numbers of personnel within each service of the Defence Forces, the current establishment figure and the number that will be required to meet level of ambition 2 under the commission on the future of the Defence Forces.

Sentiment score: 0.59

We use the term "level of ambition" about the future of the Defence Forces. However, the level of ambition from the Government is absolutely pathetic considering where we are starting from and the situation we have as a result of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael mismanagement. In December 2019, just prior to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael coming together in the previous Government, the number of personnel in the Defence Forces was 8,700. We are supposed to celebrate that numbers are now a little over 7,700. There are 1,000 fewer personnel. This is at a time when the Government is planning to abandon the triple lock to send our Defence Forces to places it will not yet stipulate. The Minister tells us that we will have 750 inductions at best this year. Perhaps she could inform the Dáil how many discharges she expects within the Defence Forces this year because on average, it is approximately 750. Is she telling us that at the end of this year, we are effectively going to have no increase in the numbers of personnel in the Defence Forces?

Sentiment score: 0.16

The difficulty is that the Minister's speech reflects, virtually verbatim, what we heard this time last year from the then Minister. There is no issue with applications or expressions of interest. We have seen that time and again. People are interested in the prospect of joining the Defence Forces. The difficulty is bringing them to the point when they are inducted and ensuring they are retained within the Defence Forces. Across the board, the Government does not have the ambition at the start or the policies at the end. The difficulty is that the members of the Defence Forces have been telling us all, and specifically the Government, the measures that are required to actually address the retention and recruitment crisis we have been facing. Has the Minister met with the Defence Forces' representative organisations? As a result of those meetings, if they took place, are there any new measures that the Minister now plans to bring forward?

Sentiment score: -0.01