Defence Forces

165. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the plans for the improvement of the pay and conditions in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47662/25]

166. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on recruitment and retention within the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47663/25]

167. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the resourcing and recruitment needed to achieve LOA2; the timeline for this in the form of year-on-year targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47664/25]

174. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will publish a percentage breakdown of capital investment by service branch, when he sets out his plan for the national development plan capital allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47814/25]

177. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the timeline for the publication of the updated Commission of the Defence Forces Implementation plan and the 12-year plan to reach LOA3. [48258/25]

182. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence for an overview of all unmanned aircraft systems used by the Defence Forces; and his plans for future systems. [48263/25]

183. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if the new ground based air defence (GBAD) system his Department is seeking to procure will be operated by the Air Corps or by the Artillery Corps; his views on the requirements the new GBAD will be required to have; and the timelines for same. [48264/25]

184. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he is still committed to achieving all capital acquisitions within the Commission of the Defence Forces Implementation plan by 2028; and if he is satisfied the capital allocation 2026-2030 will allow him to do so. [48274/25]

187. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence for an update on the medium lift helicopter replacement programme. [49027/25]

189. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the progress made to increase Defence Forces personnel towards the target of 11,500 by 2028; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49097/25]

193. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of inductions into the Defence Forces in the first six months of 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49288/25]

211. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 58 of 12 June 2025, the number of Reserve Defence Force applications received each year from 2020 to date in 2025, in tabular form; and the actions currently being taken to support recruitment to the reserve. [44574/25]

212. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if the RTSD allocation was exhausted before the end of 2024; the number of reservists were left unpaid as a result; the steps that were taken to mitigate hardship; and the measures that are being introduced to prevent this from recurring in 2025. [45106/25]

213. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence his views on the 21 consecutive day PRSI threshold and its impact on the operational reality of the modern RDF; and if his Department undertake a review to assess whether this interpretation is compliant with the intent of social insurance law and examine its potential exposure to retrospective employer PRSI and pension …

216. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if the Reserve Training and Support Day allocation was exhausted before the end of 2024; if so, the number of reservists who were left unpaid as a result; the steps being taken to mitigate hardship; the measures being introduced to prevent this from recurring in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45199/25]

217. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will acknowledge that the 21 consecutive day PRSI threshold no longer reflects the operational reality of the modern Reserve Defence Force; if his Department will undertake a review to assess whether this interpretation is compliant with the intent of social insurance law and examine its potential exposure to retrospective e…

218. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of deaths in service of Defence Forces personnel since 1 January 2000, by barracks, airbase, naval base or overseas, by cause of death, in tabular format. [45397/25]

219. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the treatment of a person (details supplied); if he will confirm whether proper procedures and Defence Forces regulations, including TS INF 090/2018 Amendment 5, were adhered to during the assessment and retesting process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45571/25]

220. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the reason the Defence Forces have a policy of excluding candidate who have had LASIK eye surgery from joining; the number of serving members of the Defence Forces that have undergone laser eye surgery, including LASIK, during or prior to their service; and the reason the Defence Forces does not provide an option for candidates w…

223. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence his Department’s plans to replace Ireland’s primary overseas deployment following the UNIFIL drawdown concluding in 2027, including candidate missions under UN, EU, or NATO-partnership frameworks; the projected deployment strength and cost profiles for 2026–2028; and the status of triple-lock reform proposals and timelines. [46514…

224. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of full time civilian groom staff working within the Defence Forces equitation school in the years of 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [46712/25]

226. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of meetings of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning held since 2022; the exercises completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47201/25]

227. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the offshore patrol vessel sea-days, Air Corps aircraft flight hours, maritime domain awareness coverage, and interoperability protocols with UK and EU partners achieved in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47202/25]

231. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the progress to date in improving recruitment and retention of personnel in the Permanent Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47429/25]

235. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current capacity of the reserve Defence Forces, including total strength and training days completed in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47521/25]