asked the Minister for Defence if there is provision in the pay subhead of his Department's 1988 Estimates for the cost of the 500 recruits he proposes to have inducted by 1 July 1988; if not, whether he will be moving a Supplementary Estimate or seek savings from other subheads; and if so, if he will give details of the savings and subheads concerned.

(Limerick West): The Vote for the Department of Defence for 1988 does include provision for the cost of the proposed intake of 500 recruits this year.

If the Estimate as published includes 500 men, the Estimate as published is misleading, because it provides for an "other ranks" figure of 11,600, a reduction of 300 over last year. Is the Minister telling me that that figure of 11,600 includes 500 recruits to be inducted before the end of this month?

(Limerick West): Yes.

So the figure published in the Estimate as being the number of other ranks is 500 wrong as it stands at the moment.

(Limerick West): No, the projected strength at the end of 1988 is 11,600 other ranks.

When the Estimate was framed what was the strength figure of other ranks?

(Limerick West): The provision for the Permanent Defence Forces under subhead B of the Vote for Defence for 1988 is £154.8 million. Provision is made for an average strength of NCOs and privates of 11,600.

If the Minister is going to induct another 500 men half way through the year at an annual cost of possibly £4 or £5 million, the figure in the Estimate is totally misleading as published. It has to be.

(Limerick West): No. The Estimate provides for a strength of 11,600 and pay in 1988 of the 500 recruits who are now being taken in will be £2.2 million.

I do not want to argue with the Minister, but when the Estimate was published it would appear that the figure for other ranks was 11,100, yet the Minister published a document showing the figure for other ranks at 11,600.

(Limerick West): The Estimate provided for a figure of 11,600 and the average strength for 1987 was 11,665.

It cannot be if 500 of that strength is only coming in now.

(Limerick West): All I will say is that the provision in the Estimate is for a strength of 11,600 which includes the 500 I am now recruiting.

Why were they not recruited at the beginning of the year?

Could the Minister tell the House how many people have left the Army? What will the 500 do? Have 500 left the Army since 1 January this year? That is what we are trying to get at.

(Limerick West): If the Deputy wants a reply to that he will need to put down a separate question.

The Minister knows the answer.

(Limerick West): I do not have that information. The question is whether provision was made in the Defence Estimate in 1988 for the intake of 500 recruits. The answer to that is “yes”.

Surely, as Deputy Cooney said, given the amount of money made available in the Estimates it looks now as if the 500 new recruits will not be brought into the Army for another month or two. No matter how quickly it is done it will be in the autumn.

(Limerick West): That is what the Deputy is saying.

I am listening to the Minister all the year talking about bringing them in and he has not brought them in yet.

(Limerick West): The Deputy is not listening to me.

What is the strength of the Army now and what will it be when the 500 are brought in? Despite the fact that the Minister is bringing in 500 new recruits fewer people will be employed in the Army at the end of the year.

(Limerick West): The strength at 1 January 1988 was 11,527. The projected strength at the end of 1988 will be 11,600, a figure provided for in the Estimate.

Basically we are only replacing people——