David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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9. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence to outline the organisational structure of the Reserve Defence Force, RDF, including its geographical spread and strength in respective locations; his future plans for the further development of the RDF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41892/24]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Tánaiste to comment on the situation regarding the Reserve Defence Force. In most other jurisdictions, reserve defence forces take a very prominent role and, in some instances, are far larger than the permanent defence forces, and they are used in a very proactive way by the jurisdictions they are located in. I am concerned about the future of the RDF here and I would like to know what the plans are.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently three branches of the Reserve Defence Force, namely, the Army Reserve, the Naval Service Reserve and the First Line Reserve. The First Line Reserve comprises former members of the Permanent Defence Force and has no defined establishment. The Second Line Reserve, consisting of the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve, has an establishment of 4,069 personnel. As of 31 August 2024, the effective strength of the Second Line Reserve stood at 1,553, which is comprised of 1,456 Army Reserve personnel and 97 Naval Service Reserve personnel. On the same date, the strength of the First Line Reserve stood at 167 personnel. The RDF is organised on a regional basis in 28 individual locations throughout the State and units operate as sub-units of parent Permanent Defence Force units in accord with the single force concept model. A table containing the strength of the RDF by formation or service or both has been compiled and will be provided to the Deputy.

The future structure and strength of the RDF is a key focus of the Defence Forces office of Reserve affairs, which was established in line with a recommendation of the Commission on the Defence Forces report, along with the full-time appointment of a director in that office at the rank of colonel. I was anxious to drive that and to get it done.

In addition to the issue of general recruitment into the RDF, a priority for the office of Reserve affairs was the development of the RDF regeneration and development plan, which was published in July last. This plan contains 27 concrete actions, which will be led by the Defence Forces with the support of my officials, to drive forward recruitment and retention, resourcing, training and education, and integration and deployment, with the ultimate goal of developing a reserve force that can seamlessly train, operate and deploy on a voluntary basis with the Permanent Defence Force, both nationally and overseas.

It is very encouraging to report that, as of 31 July, a total of 201 members have been inducted in 2024, comprising 180 Army Reserve personnel and 21 Naval Service Reserve personnel. This is an increase of some 200% over the number inducted in 2023. In addition, the number of personnel undertaking training and training days completed has already surpassed the total for 2023.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Tánaiste for that comprehensive response. I hope the number will increase. I understand there was a time when the number in the RDF, formerly the FCA, was approximately 20,000. That was the situation when I was a member up to 1997, before I came in here and was told my services were no longer required. Will the Tánaiste comment on the situation regarding the tax-free gratuity, which played an important part in attracting and retaining members to the Reserve in the past? Will he also comment on what can be done to balance the careers of people working both in ordinary civilian careers and in service? People might want to go for annual training or even serve overseas but they need to have their jobs maintained in civvy-land while they are doing that.

Will the Tánaiste tell me how many members of the First Line Reserve are effective?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I believe the Deputy's time with the FCA stood him in good stead and prepared him well for his parliamentary and ministerial career, so that speaks volume about the importance of the RDF. In a serious vein, since I became Minister, I have been very determined to drive this on because it is not acceptable that we do not have adequacy and sufficiency in terms of the Reserve Defence Force. We have made good progress but we need to drive on. There were a lot of bureaucratic delays and stuff that was unnecessary. The office we have now created for the regeneration of the Reserve Defence Force will give impetus and capacity to drive this on. We will keep the weather vane on it.

The Deputy made a very good point about employment. The Department of Finance Circular 51/1979 relating to leave for attendance at training with the Reserve Defence Force outlines the provisions for leave arranged by civil servants who attend Reserve Defence Force training. We need to more work with employers to facilitate members of the Reserve Defence Force to carry out RDF activities because it is enhancing human capital for the entire nation and everybody benefits. I can give the Deputy details of that circular.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Tánaiste about engagement with employers. As many employers would value the training I and others got in the Defence Forces in the past, I encourage the Tánaiste to go down that road and work on that.

The Tánaiste may not have the information with him today but could he let me know about the thinking about the tax-free gratuity that used to be paid? I think the Commission on the Defence Forces said it should be reinstated. A payment was made that was linked to the number of hours of training a person put in during the year. That was an incentive and support and helped to cut down on expenses incurred by members at the time. I understand that this is not being paid now but I could be wrong. Perhaps the Tánaiste could correct me or come back to me later. It is an important element that attracted and retained members in the RDF in the past. My final comment concerns the air force reserve. I understand that this will not happen until 2028. Why is there such a delay and can it be brought forward?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will follow up on the gratuity issue. That has not come on to my radar and more is the pity, because we could have got it done but I will pursue that. Civil servants can be granted special leave with pay if they attend for the full period of the course of training. That could be seven days or three working days for a course of annual training lasting 14 days. They could be given special leave of seven working days.

At the launch in July, I met an interesting group of people who came from private industry and had important skill sets in technology, life sciences and communications. One could easily see the ready application of those skill sets to the benefit of our Defence Forces and the country, be they in aid to civilian power scenarios or any potential scenario. One member from the Reserve Defence Force was serving overseas. There is a need for cultural change in our society to encourage this type of activity and engagement.