The Defence Forces First Line Reserve (FLR), which is intended to support the military in emergencies, is down to just three officers.
The FLR is made up of trained personnel who leave the Permanent Defence Forces and agree to spend a period of time as reservists. However, despite record numbers of personnel leaving the Permanent Defence Forces in recent years, the FLR has almost ceased to exist.
According to figures from the Defence Forces there are currently just three officers in the FLR, along with 44 noncommissioned officers and 229 privates.
The FLR differs from the Army Reserve, formerly known as Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (FCA), in that membership is comprised solely of ex-full time Defence Forces members. Its primary role is to provide expertise and training which will allow the Permanent Defence Forces to quickly increase its size in the event of an emergency.
Its declining numbers mirror the decline in the Permanent Defence Forces. The latest figures show the number of people leaving the military is double the number being recruited. So far this year, just one woman has been recruited amid 617 applicants. The overall strength of the Defence Forces is just under 8,000, the lowest number in decades.
The latest figures show very few Permanent Defence Forces personnel are being recruited into the FLR on retirement, a trend which is particularly pronounced among retiring officers.
As recently as 2019, there were 35 officers in the FLR, more than 10 times the current number. The overall strength of the FLR has declined steadily since 2005 when there were 404 members, including enlisted and officer ranks.
A recent survey of retired officers by the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (Raco) found only 14 per cent applied for a role in the FLR on retirement from the Permanent Defence Forces, which is the only way to become a member.
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However, the survey also found a 47 per cent of retired officers would apply for an FLR role now, if given the opportunity.
“I would do anything of value, I would teach law, aviation. I would fly aeroplanes or do operations duties at weekend. I would assist in recruitment,” one former officer told Raco’s magazine Signal. “The organisational silence on progressing recruitment into the reserve is inexplicably disappointing,” they said.
In its 2022 report, the Commission on the Defence Forces noted none of the FLR is “operationally effective” and raised concerns about recruitment processes. It said former Defence Forces members, including senior ranks, reported “a surprising lack of engagement” when they applied to join the FLR.
“The commission has been puzzled as to why these applications are not being processed, and believe that this issue requires immediate resolution given the potential value such recently experienced [Permanent Defence Forces] personnel, who are clearly keen to continue to serve, can contribute to revitalising the [Reserve Defence Forces].”
It said recruitment problems could be resolved “relatively easily” which would significantly enhance the strength of the Reserves.
A Defence Forces spokesman said, following the commission’s recommendations, an “Office of Reserve Affairs” has been established which will be responsible for the development the FLR.
