In April and May, members of the Irish Defence Forces' 1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron travelled to the Fort Benning in the US, where they achieved historic success at the 2026 Sullivan Cup, becoming the first non-American team to win the competition since it began in 2012, and this while using fighting vehicles with which they had no previous familiarity. We frequently speak here of the pride we have in the Defence Forces, but this is yet another example of how the men and women of the Irish Defence Forces continue to distinguish themselves internationally.
I come, as the Tánaiste knows, from a constituency where the Defence Forces are at the heart of every aspect of our community. I have watched as the strength of our Defence Forces has declined over the past decade or more, and while recognising something of a stabilisation and upturn in recruitment in recent years, I have to say that I am profoundly concerned at the current strength of our forces, standing, as it does, at just 7,741 personnel across the three services - Army, Naval Service and Air Corps.
It is a disappointment that, as we take the EU Presidency and rightly commit to spending more on defence, we have not succeeded in boosting our force numbers to what could be considered an acceptable level. The establishment figure stood at 9,739 personnel in 2025, with a target to move towards the Commission on the Defence Forces' recommendation of 11,500 personnel by 2028. However, by having a policy of 400 recruits per year, it means it will take us ten years to get to the establishment figure.
I accept that the Government has acted to significantly improve pay and conditions but much more needs to be done. I acknowledge that the Government accepts that there is a structural deficiency in the cadet pay system, which is a real disincentive to young men and women joining the officer corps. A return to the traditional pension scheme and a total abandonment of the single pension scheme would also help.
At a time when we can be happy to boast of full employment arising from the diligence of the Irish population and the sound economic policies pursued by successive Governments, we have to ask ourselves where the new recruits are to come from. The Government needs to be creative in how it approaches this challenge, but it needs to be approached in a far more resolute manner than it has to date. If the required level cannot be achieved because the population is already at work in other areas, a question arises as to whether there are people in the State not at work or in education who could be encouraged, via some form of voluntary national service to sign up with our Permanent Defence Force.
Let us look, if we can for a minute, at the health service. I recently reviewed stats that revealed that 40% of all practising doctors in Ireland were foreign trained. The same set of stats indicates that 54% of practising nurses in Ireland trained abroad and a staggeringly massive 78% of new nursing registrants in 2024 came from abroad.
