Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
323. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether she intends to publish the Strategic Workforce Plan for the Defence Forces in full; whether any sections are expected to be withheld or redacted; the rationale for any such redactions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39218/26]
View answer324. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the Strategic Workforce Plan contains branch-specific workforce targets for the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; and if she will provide the projected personnel targets for each service branch for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2030. [39219/26]
View answer325. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the Strategic Workforce Plan includes defined annual recruitment, retention and attrition targets for the Air Corps; and if she will provide details of same [39220/26]
View answer330. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the Strategic Workforce Plan includes branch-specific key performance indicators or measurable delivery benchmarks; and if she will outline the oversight and reporting mechanisms intended to monitor implementation of the plan. [39225/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 323, 324, 325 and 330 together.
A draft Strategic Workforce Plan prepared by the Defence Forces has recently been submitted to me for consideration. The draft plan, recommendations, and modelling tool will be considered over the coming weeks. As the Deputy will be aware, the aim of this process is to provide a pathway to the achievement of a strength of 11,500, inclusive of civilian personnel, commensurate with Level of Ambition 2.
Strategic Workforce Planning is effectively a continuous pro-active process that aligns the needs of each of the three services, including the Air Corps, with the future talent required. It is not intended to publish the Plan for both operational and security reasons.
In terms of recruitment and retention, last year saw an increase of almost 200 in the overall strength of the Permanent Defence Force. This increase was assisted by the induction of 790 personnel- the highest number in twenty years, and total discharges for the year of 583 - the lowest number in seven years.
I am determined to build on the progress achieved in 2025 and have set a target of 850 inductions for 2026.
It is very positive to see such high levels of interest in a career in the Defence Forces, with a total of 16,510 applications received last year and over 8,000 received to the end of April of this year. The challenge now is for the Defence Forces to convert those applications into inductions. The workforce plan will set out the pathway to the achievement of a strength of 11,500, including civilian personnel.
Recruitment to the Defence Forces continues apace. New competitions for Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, Medical Officers, Chefs and Cyber/CIS personnel have all launched recently. These complement the already diverse range of Direct Entry and General service recruitment competitions that are presently open and ongoing and reflect the concerted efforts being made by the Defence Forces in relation to recruitment.
Underpinning these recruitment efforts and the associated enabling measures, I ensured that 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.
