238. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the distribution of the planned strength of 11,500 personnel across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; and the date by which this target is planned to be achieved. [15690/26]
Topics / Defence Forces
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsDefence Forces
1,115 questions from 105 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
1,115
questions
1,048 written, 67 oral
105
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
6
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 9 |
| February 2025 | 58 |
| March 2025 | 27 |
| April 2025 | 23 |
| May 2025 | 47 |
| June 2025 | 83 |
| July 2025 | 55 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 91 |
| October 2025 | 36 |
| November 2025 | 77 |
| December 2025 | 85 |
| January 2026 | 33 |
| February 2026 | 120 |
| March 2026 | 34 |
| April 2026 | 30 |
| May 2026 | 108 |
| June 2026 | 74 |
| July 2026 | 87 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 24 |
| October 2026 | 14 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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80
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76
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41
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41
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39
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34
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30
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24
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
239. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has conducted a study of mortality of serving or former members of the Air Corps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16168/26]
648. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted a study of mortality of serving or former members of the Air Corps to ascertain if they are in line with the general population; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16169/26]
649. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has ever conducted a study of the health of serving or former members of the Air Corps to ascertain whether there is a greater concentration or a clustering of unusual or uncommon cancers or other ailments among this cohort of the public; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16170/26]
22. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Defence if the maximum age limit to join the Defence Forces will be increased from 39 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15214/26]
26. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Defence the legislation that underpins the activities of the Irish Military Intelligence Service (IMIS); the name of the current Director of the IMIS; the number of members of the Defence Forces and civilian staff serving in the IMIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15588/26]
266. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Defence the total number of medical assessments completed for the PDF and RDF, by year, and medical assessment location such as (St. Bricin’s, Cork, Athlone, or other relevant individual facility); the number of formal medical appeals submitted by applicants in each of those years, by the original medical assessment facilities; the outcomes of those medical appeals, …
270. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence the number of outsourced services in the Defence Forces and the plans to bring them back in-house; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14547/26]
271. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 438 of 13 January 2026, when the information regarding the mean wait time for security clearance to be granted to reservists in the Defence Forces for each of the years 2021 to 2025, inclusive; and the number of applications for security clearances for reservists in each of those years will be available [14592/26]
272. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence if she will publish the regeneration plans for the Naval Service and Air Corps that she has committed to progressing this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14943/26]
273. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence is she will publish the Capability Development Programme 2028 to 2032, and also the programme to 2040; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14944/26]
274. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence if the NDP 2030 allocation for the armoured fleet replacement programme will be used to replace the Mowag Piranha; if it is envisioned that the Mowags will be replaced in the next NDP allocation; when she envisages the programme will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14966/26]
279. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Defence to outline the proposals she is implementing in relation to recruitment in Defence Forces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15148/26]
213. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence her views on the recruitment of a person (details supplied) to the Defence Forces; the vetting procedures involved in light of their guilty plea and conviction for a violent assault; if the Defence Forces were aware of their guilty plea and conviction for violent assault prior to their recruitment to the Defence Forces; if not, then when they become awa…
215. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the estimated average cost to the Exchequer of recruiting, inducting and training a General Service Recruit in the Permanent Defence Forces, broken down by Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; the total estimated cost of recruits who did not complete training in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and the estimated cost of personnel who left the Permanent Defence Force…
216. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has set formal annual retention targets for the Permanent Defence Forces; if so, the specific percentage attrition ceiling or numerical retention target set for each service; the key performance indicators used to measure retention; and the most recent performance against each of those indicators [13750/26]
218. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number of recruits discharged by purchase in each of the years 2020 to 2025; the average length of service at exit for such personnel; and the estimated financial impact on the Defence Vote arising from voluntary early departures within two years of induction [13752/26]
221. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether changes to eligibility criteria for recruitment into the Permanent Defence Forces are under consideration; whether non-citizen eligibility expansion is being examined; and to outline the policy rationale for any such proposals. [13867/26]
223. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the present enlistment in the Permanent Defence Forces; the proposals there are to increase recruitment and improve retention levels in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13943/26]
23. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the total number of current Defence Forces personnel in terms of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service and the Reserve Defence Force, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13220/26]
24. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the total number of people recruited to the Defence Forces since 2020 who have since left the Defence Forces, broken down by each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13221/26]
25. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the number of people who have joined the Defence Forces since 2020, broken down by each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13222/26]
26. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the number of people who have left the Defence Forces since 2020, broken down by each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13223/26]
27. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence if she will outline those duties and services formerly completed internally by Defence Forces personnel that have now been outsourced or privatised, in each of the years since 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13224/26]
28. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence to provide information (details supplied) on medical assessments for each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13393/26]