Numbers of officers in Defence Forces drop despite recruitment campaign

There are just over 9,000 officers left in the permanent Defence Forces.

New figures released to Fianna Fáil reveal that the numbers have fallen again to 9,044, despite a recruitment campaign in 2016.

Nearly 700 personnel joined in the past year but there are still one hundred fewer members than at the end of 2015.

The approved strength of the Defence Forces is 9,500 members.

Fianna Fáil is calling on the government to urgently address the retention crisis.