Drop in numbers joining Defence Forces

Fears have been expressed that the Defence Forces will find it difficult to recruit enough personnel to keep pace with early retirements as the number of people applying to join up dropped by nearly half between the last two recruitment campaigns.

The concerns have been raised by PDForra, the association which represents 6,500 enlisted men in the Defence Forces, as a new round of recruitment has just been announced.

PDForra believes that poor pay and the opportunity for young men and women to earn a better wage in the rapidly improving private sector will hamper recruitment.