286. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Defence the progress her Department has made on increasing recruitment in the Defence Forces in the past 12 months. [57954/26]

287. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Defence the number who have left the permanent Defence Forces in the past 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57955/26]

288. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces applicants who did not progress to becoming members of the Permanent Defence Forces in the past three years; the breakdown of the reason they did not become members; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57956/26]

291. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Defence the breakdown, by gender of current members of the Permanent Defence Forces; and a breakdown by gender of members of the Defence Forces recruited in the past three years, in tabular form. [57959/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 286, 287, 288 and 291 together.

As Minister for Defence, I am fully committed to increasing and strengthening recruitment in the Permanent Defence Force.

The Military Authorities advise that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) stood at 7,816 personnel, consisting of 7,218 males and 598 females, on the 30 June 2026, the latest date for which this figure is available.

Last year saw a modest, though significant, growth in the overall strength of nearly 200, with a total of 790 inductions achieved, of which 720 were male and 70 were female, - the highest in twenty years - and the number of personnel who discharged was at its lowest level in more than five years. I am determined to build on this and have set a target of 850 inductions for 2026. As of 30 June 2026 there have been a total of 334 Inductions achieved, comprising of 301 males and 33 females.

The equivalent figures for 2023 and 2024, requested by the Deputy, are as follows: in 2023 there were 415 inductions of which 378 were male and 37 were female, and, in 2024 there were 708 inductions of which 668 were male and 40 were female.

Last year, a total of 583 personnel left the PDF while discharges for this year to date stands at 265.

I am pleased that there continues to be very strong interest in a career in the PDF with a total of 16,510 applications received in 2025 and over 12,000 applications received to date in 2026. The challenge now for the PDF is to convert the high level of applications to inductions. A draft Strategic Workforce Plan prepared by the Defence Forces has recently been submitted to me for consideration. 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.

Increases in application numbers and in the overall strength of the PDF demonstrate that the key enabling measures which the Government has introduced to support and drive Defence Forces recruitment and retention are yielding results.

These measures include: increases in the maximum ages of recruitment and retirement respectively; the extension of private secondary healthcare to all personnel; and the application of the provisions of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces subject to certain exemptions. The Patrol Duty allowance payable to Naval Service personnel at sea has been doubled after ten days at sea in a calendar year while the Naval Service tax credit has been extended for a further five years. There continues to be significant progress on pay and all personnel benefited from a pay award in June.

Opportunities for careers in the Defence Forces remain open via a diverse range of ongoing competitions including general service recruitment, re-entry schemes and multiple direct entry competitions for specialist roles.

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.

Significant strides continue to be made on a number of fronts and the allocation of record levels of expenditure, coupled with the initiatives I have outlined here, is illustrative of my commitment to building on the growth in recruitment achieved in recent years.