Defence Forces officer numbers at 1972 level

The number of officers in the Defence Forces has fallen to its lowest level since 1972, though the international terrorism threat has seldom been higher.

The Irish Examiner understands the current officer strength across the army, naval service, and air corps stands at 1,154 — which is just 37 more than in 1972.

A total of 18 officers from the army and one from the air corps were commissioned at the Defence Forces Training Centre at the Curragh last Thursday. However, that intake has already been cancelled out by news that around 20 other officers, mainly from the army, have signalled their intention to take early retirement. Far more will also be forced to retire from the Defence Forces this year on age grounds.