Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2026
346. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Defence the current strength of the Permanent Defence Forces, disaggregated by Army, Air Corps and Naval Service; the establishment strength for each branch; the projected strength for end-2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12909/26]
View answerAs of the 31 December 2025, the latest date such figures are available for, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) stood at 7,756 personnel consisting of 6,184 Army, 765 Air Corps and 807 Naval Service personnel respectively.
The establishment figure for the Permanent Defence Force has increased incrementally since 2022 to 9,739 (7,573 Army, 886 Air Corps, 1094 Naval Service and 186 CODF posts 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 2025. These funds include provision for the recruitment of a net 400 additional PDF members per annum.
In order to meet government targets, the Defence Forces are making concerted efforts to increase recruitment. Opportunities for a career in the Defence Forces remain open via a diverse range of ongoing competitions including general service recruitment and Direct Entry, while the 2026 Cadetship competition recently opened for applications. Increased training capacity is being progressed and it is envisaged that, when fully operational, the Joint Induction Training Centre which has been established in Gormanston Camp will facilitate the training of up to 900 recruits per annum.
Last year saw an increase in numbers with 790 inductions to the Permanent Defence Force. I want to build on the progress achieved in 2025 and have set a target of 850 inductions for 2026. There continues to be very strong interest in a career in the Defence Forces with further growth again this year in the number of applications received. A total of 16,510 applications were received in 2025, which represents an increase of more than twenty percent on the 13,348 applications recorded 2024.
Government has introduced a range of key enabling measures to support and drive Defence Forces recruitment and retention. These include increases in the maximum ages of recruitment and retirement respectively, the extension of private secondary healthcare to all personnel and the application of the provisions of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces subject to certain exemptions. The Patrol Duty allowance payable to Naval Service personnel at sea has been doubled after ten days at sea in a calendar year while the Naval Service tax credit has been extended for a further five years.
There continues to be progress on pay with all personnel benefiting from a pay award delivered earlier this month with a further increase due in June.
Significant progress continue to be made on a number of fronts and the allocation of record levels of expenditure along with the multitude of initiatives in train is illustrative of my commitment to the Defence sector.
