Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
251. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the key measures taken to support and expand the Reserve Defence Forces during 2025; her priorities for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72502/25]
View answerOne of my key priorities in 2025 and into 2026 is the continuation of the modernisation of our Defence Forces and a vital part of this transformation process is the revitalising of the Reserve Forces, as identified and recommended by the Commission on the Defence Forces.
The Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) Regeneration and Development Plan (RDFRDP), published in July 2024, coordinates 27 individual actions to drive forward recruitment and retention; resourcing; training and education; as well as integration and deployment - the 4 operational objectives of the plan. Each of the 27 actions contribute to the ultimate goal of developing a Reserve Force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy on a voluntary basis with the Permanent Defence Force, both nationally and overseas.
Examples of recruitment measures include: the increase in upper recruitment and mandatory retirement ages; implementation of a ‘managed Induction Process’ and the on boarding process which enables candidates to undergo pre-attestation recruit training.
In addition to general service recruitment, a further action within the RDFRDP is the enabling of multi induction streams, which will ensure the RDF has as many induction mechanisms as possible, including direct and lateral entry.
The Office of Reserve Affairs has created a Reserve Strategic Engagement Team, comprised of reservists with relevant marketing, advertising and media production skills, who have led a series of initiatives to enhance awareness of the RDF and support recruitment. This involves conducting a social media campaign, attending events and engaging with relevant stakeholders.
Furthermore, a national advertising campaign is being developed which will include new updated RDF promotional material and the roll out of branded exhibition equipment.
Admission to the First Line Reserve (FLR) element of the RDF, which provides a pool of former trained/ specialist personnel, available to supplement the PDF in times of emergency, is also under review.
The increased interest in the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) was reflected when 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 and sanctioned in the latter part of the year. The budget was further increased to €3.5m for 2025 and will be increased again for 2026.
The initiatives contained in the RDF Regeneration and Development Plan are generating positive change and increased momentum towards a regenerated, trained and capable RDF to support the Permanent Defence Forces and the work in 2026 will build on that success.
