Ken O'Flynn
Ceist:237. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the estimated fiscal impact on the Defence Vote of recruits discharged by purchase within 90 days of induction in each of the years 2020 to 2025. [15689/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 26 February 2026
Ceisteanna (237)
Freagraí scríofa
As Minister for Defence ensuring that the Defence Forces are properly resourced to support recruitment and retention remains a key priority of mine. In this context, the Defence Vote Group has been provided with a funding allocation of €1.49 billion in Budget 2026. On the Defence Vote, there has been a €135m (13%) increase on the corresponding 2025 allocation, an increase which sees the Defence Vote increase significantly to €1.17 billion in 2026.
The pay and allowances allocation of €598 million includes a PDF pay allocation of €485 million, which provides for a prevailing PDF strength of 8,100, to include the recruitment of an additional net 400 PDF personnel in 2026, and the full impacts of the National Pay Agreement. The record investment provided under Budget 2026 underscores my commitment to bolstering recruitment and improving retention across the Defence Forces.
The financial impact associated with recruits discharging by purchase is incorporated into the overall budgeting process each year. Accordingly, with regards to the fiscal impact on the Defence Vote, the budget makes provision for the Defence Forces to grow by 400 personnel overall in 2026, notwithstanding the expected level of discharges.
I have set out in the table below the information provided by the military authorities on the number of recruits who discharged by purchase for each year from 2020 to 2026:
|
Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026* |
|
Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026* |
|
No. of Recruits who discharged by purchase |
150 |
160 |
131 |
90 |
123 |
157 |
26 |
*As of 31 January 2026