Over 250 foreign-born personnel joined the Defence Forces in the last five years

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney and the Defence Forces’ Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM attending the Naval Service 75th anniversary in Cork on Saturday, 4th September 2021. Picture: Julien Behal

The country is becoming ever more reliant on foreign-born personnel joining the Defence Forces, with 264 signing up in the last five years.

Figures obtained by PDForra, the association which represents enlisted members of the military, show how multi-cultural the Defence Forces has become in such a short period.