Report recommends more staff, equipment and training for Irish Defence Forces

An extra 2,000 people are needed in the Irish Defence Forces in addition to extra resources and training, Minister Simon Coveney has confirmed. 

Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said the recommendations are contained in Commission on the Defence Forces report.

"What they are recommending is that the Government would support an increase in resources to the Defence Forces. That's about equipment, that's about better training, but it's also about more people. And they are recommending that an extra 2,000 people are added to the establishment of the permanent Defence Forces as well as a complete rebuilding of the reserve". 

"We are one thousand people short of where we need to be at the moment in terms of that establishment figure, which is nine and a half thousand," Minister Coveney said. 

He added that three chapters of the report deals with pay and conditions and culture in the Defence Forces. 

The report also looks at ways to make a career in the Defence Forces more family-friendly and more flexible, Minister Coveney said. 

"All of those things are being addressed," he said.