2026-02-17

148. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the number of people currently enlisted in the Reserve Defence Force; the measures that will be taken to increase the number enlisted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12482/26]

This is the first opportunity I have had in this House to wish the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, well with their very important work in the Department of Defence. The implementation plan for the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, published in November 2023, stated very clearly that the Reserve Defence Force, RDF, needs to be revitalised. For far too long, numbers have been much too low in the RDF. Will the Minister of State outline what particular measures he hopes to take to increase substantially the numbers participating in the important work the Reserve Defence Force carries out throughout the country?

I thank the Deputy for the question. I will start by recognising the importance of the Reserve Defence Force to the State. In the past few years, we have witnessed a revitalisation of the Reserve. The strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as of the end of 2025, was 204 first-line Reserve personnel and 1,612 second-line Reserve personnel, which is comprised of 1,481 Army Reserve personnel and 131 Naval Service Reserve personnel. The priority of Government is the modernisation of our Defence Forces and revitalising our Reserve Defence Force is a key part of this transformation. In that context, the Reserve Defence Force regeneration plan, published in July 2024, contains 27 actions across four objectives, namely, recruit and retain; resource; train and educate; and integrate and deploy. One of the four operational objectives of the plan is to improve the induction process, with the aim of achieving an effective strength of 80% by 2028. Recruitment increased substantially in 2024 and continues to gain momentum, with approximately 300 applicants in pre-induction training at the end of 2025. This growth will be reflected in the 2026 strength figures. Implementation of the regeneration plan is being monitored to address any blockages arising and to ensure progress across the actions. Other areas of work under way in the Reserve Defence Force sphere include a new Reserve Defence Force recruitment system, which will result in a more streamlined and user-friendly process for applicants and a significant RDF advertising awareness campaign is in the final stages of development. This will be co-ordinated across all media, including TV and radio advertisements, to raise the public's awareness of the opportunities available in the Reserve Defence Force. Another area of work under way is the substantial expansion in the Reserve Defence Force budget, which continues to increase in pace with the enhanced role of the Reserve Defence Force. To illustrate this, the budget allocation in 2025 was €3.5 million and the Government has further increased it to €4.5 million for 2026.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I sincerely hope that the laudable objectives he outlined from the RDF regeneration development plan, which was published in July 2024, are implemented with as much impetus as possible. It is extremely important that we increase the numbers. The RDF should have a greater presence throughout the country and in each community. Deputy Crowe and I were on the foreign affairs and defence committee from 2016 to 2020. At that time, as Cathaoirleach of the committee, I invited the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association, RDFRA, to come before the committee. We gave its representatives an opportunity to outline the particular issues which, in the RDFRA's view, faced the RDF at that time. One of the issues, as the Minister of State noted, was the need for better advertising campaigns for recruitment and better support to ensure that retention levels are improved. By and large, the Reserve Defence Force costs the State very little. The State could be much more generous in paying people for the time they are losing in their day jobs. In many instances, they have to undergo additional medical checks. The payments they get for those medical checks do not even pay the GP for the medical examination. Those types of things are small from the State's point of view but they are big to the individuals and addressing them could help to increase both retention and recruitment.

The regeneration plan was published in July 2024 and has four main priorities: recruitment and retention: resourcing; training; and integration and deployment. In relation to specific issues with Reserve Defence Force activities that attract payments, conditions under which reservists are paid for certain activities are set out in the Defence Force regulations. In 2023, a letter of instruction was issued that was not consistent with the regulations and items have been replaced with an updated guidance note. The office of Reserve affairs has prepared a paper for the Defence Forces board about reserve activities that should attract a payment. The office has advised that the Defence Forces board is considering the content of the paper and the regulatory underpinnings of paid activities. It will be considered by Department officials once it is received.

As regards the Minister of State's final comments with regard to the review of particular services that can be remunerated, I hope that issue can be addressed. As the Minister of State knows, I grew up on the Border. I saw the importance of the Reserve Defence Force. In many instances, good members of the community got young people who may have been in certain difficulty into the Reserve Defence Force. The young people enjoyed the training and benefited a great deal from it. Many of them went on to serve in the Permanent Defence Force. Were it not for that conduit and avenue they had to enlist in the Reserve Defence Force, acquire training and skills and discipline in their life, God knows what would have happened to them. Many people I know from the community along the Border where I grew up went on to serve this State, both at home and abroad, with great distinction and commitment. I remember referring to that one day at a committee meeting and many former members of the Army at all levels contacted me afterwards to say we should never forget the importance of the Reserve Defence Force in giving some young people who may have been vulnerable and came from what would be termed disadvantaged homes the opportunity to participate in the RDF and go on to very good and successful careers in the Permanent Defence Force and other trades and professions as well.

Recruitment has increased substantially, particularly in 2024. It slowed down in 2025 but the numbers were substantially higher than they were 2023. The numbers will be boosted by the number of applicants who were undertaking module 1 pre-induction training at the end of last year. Work has been done and numbers have gone up. That is very important. There is a huge effort under way to attract more people into the Reserve Defence Forces, such as increasing the upper retirement age and mandatory retirement age. There is the implementation of a managed induction process, whereby a recruitment liaison officer maintains contact with applicants throughout the induction process to help facilitate an expeditious and efficient recruitment process. There is an on-boarding process which enables candidates to undergo pre-attestation recruit training. There is a significant RDF awareness campaign being developed, as I said, to raise public awareness. I would certainly love if Members of the Oireachtas were involved in spread the message. I suggest the Department make sure that Oireachtas Members are fully up to speed with the efforts being made by the Department and the military to enhance recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force. We can then encourage our constituents to take up these very important roles.