Irish Defence Forces recruitment drive secures roles for almost 250 new members

Almost 250 people have been recruited to the Irish Defence Forces following a large recruitment drive this year.

Plans to bring in 600 new members were outlined at the beginning of the year, and so far there has been 246 people recruited to both the regular army and the Irish Naval Service. The application process for the regular army has now closed as they are content with the numbers already brought in and the number of people still going through the application process. Applications remain open for the Reserve Defence Force and the Irish Navy however.

Enda Kenny yesterday confirmed that 199 people were recruited to the army and a further 47 members were brought into the navy.

There are plans in place to recruit 850 to the Irish Defence Forces next year as they continue to inject fresh blood into the system.