Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:
27. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence if she will outline those duties and services formerly completed internally by Defence Forces personnel that have now been outsourced or privatised, in each of the years since 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13224/26]
View answer
The Defence Forces have been requested to provide information on the duties and services formerly completed internally by Defence Forces personnel which have now been outsourced or privatised in each of the years since 2018.
As this request requires the collation, extrapolation, and evaluation of a significant amount of legacy information within a short period of time, it will not be possible to reply within the timelines specified.
I will respond in full to the Deputy as soon as this analysis has been completed.
The following deferred reply was recieved under Standing Orders.
I refer to your Parliamentary Question Number 27 of 18th February, in which you asked about the ‘duties and services formerly completed internally by Defence Forces personnel which have now been outsourced or privatised, in each of the years since 2018’.
I have now received the requested information from the Defence Forces.
In addressing this issue, it is important to distinguish between instances where a function has been outsourced on a long-term basis and instances where external resources have been engaged to undertake a function on a short-term basis due to staffing or skills shortages.
In most of the instances listed below, the duties and services have not been outsourced on a long-term basis, rather the Defence Forces have engaged external service providers to enhance capacity or to perform the duty or service due to temporary personnel or skills shortages. The intention would be to revert to the duty or service being performed in-house when feasible.
Army
Long-term
• · A number of Communications & Information Systems functions have been outsourced, with technical support being provided in various areas.
• · Some of the maintenance and upkeep of certain Defence Force Installations has been contracted out to private companies.
• · Short-term
• · The current Transport Vehicle Body Repair and Recovery contract provides for the engagement of external service providers to deliver vehicle crash repairs and painting services.
• · Specialised ordnance instructors have been brought in to temporarily support the delivery of instruction to students of the Ordnance School.
• · A private company has been contracted to undertake PDF and RDF occupational and induction Part 2 medicals.
• · Agency services have been utilised to address a current shortage of medical personnel to undertake specialist roles e.g. nurses, lab technicians etc.
• · Army Training – certain courses e.g. Mortar Platoon Commanders, 2I/C and NCO have been undertaken externally.
Naval Service
Long-term
• · The maintenance of certain ships’ main engines and propulsion systems has been enhanced and outsourced, through an Optimised Maintenance contract.
• Short-term
• Air Corps
Long-term
• · Second line maintenance for certain aircraft types has been outsourced, including instances where additional maintenance support is required.
• · Civilian technician support has been used to provide technical support to the Air Corps.
Short-term
• · Due to a shortage of air traffic control personnel, ATC operational capability has reduced since June 2025. Contractual agreement set up with an external service provider (ASG Ltd) to provide Flight Information Service Officer (FISO) services at the Aerodrome.
• · Flight Operations – some Ministerial Air Transport Service Charter flights and PC9M Flight Line Support (Ramp Operations) have been delivered by external service providers.
• · Flight Training – certain ab initio pilot training has been undertaken externally.
A broad range of progressive measures has been successfully implemented in recent years to support the objective of recruitment and retention of personnel in the Defence Forces.
In 2024, Defence Forces strength levels stabilised and recorded a modest increase in 2025. This indicates that the key enabling measures are taking effect and delivering positive outcomes.
The Defence Forces are currently formulating a Strategic Workforce Plan to set out current personnel and skill sets and to map out proposals for the achievement of a strength of 11,500. I want to build on the progress achieved in 2025 and have set a target of 850 inductions for 2026.
Underpinning these and other measures, is a record allocation of €1.49 billion for the Defence Sector in Budget 2026, and while recruitment and retention issues remain challenging, this record Defence allocation illustrates my ongoing commitment to increasing recruitment and improving retention throughout the Defence Forces.
