Sir, – I refer to the Front page article (November 7th) on the strength of the Permanent Defence Forces which seems to have been written on the basis of a misunderstanding.
There has been no departure from the terms of the moratorium in relation to the Defence Forces. On the contrary, limited recruitment can only proceed because the strength of the Defence Forces is considerably below the ceiling set by Government. The recommended strength ceiling for the Defence Forces was set at 10,000 personnel in the McCarthy Report (Bord Snip Nua). Under the National Recovery Plan the strength of the Defence Forces was scheduled to fall further to approximately 9,600 by 2014. But at the end of September 2011 the strength of the Defence Forces had already fallen to 9,458 which is the lowest number since the early 1970s and below the reduction prescribed by 2014. Due to expected retirements it will fall further by the end of this year.
I have on a number of occasions placed on the record in Dáil Éireann my view that personnel in the Defence Forces should be maintained at 9,500 to ensure that the Defence Forces have the capabilities to meet both their international (UN/EU) and domestic obligations.
Targeted recruitment will continue within the resource envelope allocated to Defence to achieve this objective and this is what has transpired. There has been no additional funding allocated to the Department of Defence to facilitate necessary recruitment. In this context it is worth noting that total Defence expenditure (both military and civilian) in the year 2000 constituted 3.2 per cent of total Government overall expenditure. In 2010 total Defence expenditure constituted 1.59 per cent of overall Government expenditure. Moreover, the Department of Defence comprising Defence Forces, civilian employees and civil servants is the only Department in 2011 that has fewer employees than in the year 2000 (12,240 at end 2000 and 10,491 at end of September 2011). – Yours, etc,