The Taoiseach will be aware of the commitment in the programme for Government to ensure that at least 9,500 Permanent Defence Forces personnel and a full strength reserve is in place. Fianna Fáil has highlighted the poor pay and conditions in the Defence Forces, and it is coming home to roost as significant numbers are leaving the Defence Forces on a regular basis. Those leaving are from across the range, from highly skilled IT personnel, traffic control and bomb disposal. There has been a severe impact on the bomb disposal unit. The force is at its lowest strength in 50 years. PDFORRA is meeting today in Cavan. It has said that 2,900 members took early retirement and approximately 1,000 of those had to pay the State a discharge purchase. I would ask how the Government proposes to fulfil its commitment in the programme for Government to ensure that there is up to 9,500 in the Permanent Defence Forces given the very poor retention rates of those who join.

The Government is very much committed to achieving a target of 9,500 personnel in our Permanent Defence Forces. In doing so, we are going to recruit 800 personnel this year, but as the Deputy points out very accurately, a large number of people leave the Defence Forces every year. Roughly 580 leave every year, and that has been the case for the past decade. Other militaries, such as that of the United Kingdom, are experiencing similar issues. It is a normal feature of military organisations to have quite a high turnover of personnel. We will recruit 800 to the Defence Forces this year. We have a particular issue around those with particular skills which are very valuable in the private sector, and with the economy recovering we are losing personnel from groups such as pilots, air traffic controllers and other skilled people to the private sector.

This afternoon, however, at the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, conference, the Minister of State with responsibility for Defence, Deputy Kehoe, will announce a series of measures relating to contracts, promotions and the working time directive aimed at further increasing the attractiveness of the Defence Forces as a career option. One example of the impact of pay restoration is that newly qualified three star privates and their naval equivalents can now expect to earn €27,000 a year, up from €21,000 a year when pay restoration began.