Resource-hit Defence Forces has spent €1.25m on recruitment in two years
Picture: Others Eddie Amongst O'hare At Docked Naval Haulbowline The Shaw Bernard Naval The George Vessel Irish Base In
The Defence Forces has spent almost €1.25 million on recruitment advertising over the past two years, trying to drum up interest among new recruits.
Spending was considerably down last year to a total of €490,739, which was around two-thirds of just over €750,000 that was spent in 2021.
More than half the money — or €666,000 —
went on online campaigns on Instagram, Facebook, with Snapchat and TikTok also proving particularly adept at generating interest from potential recruits.
A further €198,000 was spent on print advertising while another €140,000 was spent on radio campaigns, according to figures released under FOI.
The remaining money of just over €235,000 was spent on TV ads for recruitment, said the Defence Forces, which has faced recent controversy over its handling of claims of abuse within the organisation.
According to the military, the various recruitment campaigns it ran led to applications from 17,189 different people over the course of 2021 and 2022.
From those applications, 956 ended up being inducted into the Defence Forces, with the vast majority of the new recruits entering general service.
Figures for 2022 show there were 1,419 applications for cadetships, with 45 of those applicants accepted for a military career.
There were another 5,416 applicants for general service, of whom 350 were inducted into the Defence Forces.
A total of 898 people applied for specialist positions with just 25 ending up joining the military.
For 2021, there had been 1,760 applications for cadetships, with 56 of the applicants being inducted into the Defence Forces.
Another 6,709 people applied for general service roles, with 442 signing up for a career in the military.
Altogether, 987 people applied to become a specialist in 2021, 38 of whom were inducted.
This week, Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin claimed the naval service has the capacity to staff three out of its four ships but admitted the situation is “critical” in terms of recruitment and retention.
His comments came after the Irish Examiner reported that a shortage of sailors resulted in none of the navy’s four-ship fleet, worth €280m, being able to go out on patrol. That shortage came to the fore last weekend when none of the naval service's ships took the seas despite the presence of two Russian ships off the west coast.
There is now a critical shortage of able seamen and the crewing crisis has left its four modern ships — LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ James Joyce, LÉ WB Yeats, and LÉ George Bernard Shaw — tied up at the Haulbowline navy base in Cork harbour.
Mr Martin insisted there is capacity to staff three ships and that they are operational.
A Defence Forces spokesperson said: “Óglaigh na hÉireann offers a diverse range of recruitment opportunities across its three services, from general service recruits and cadets to highly specialised technically proficient soldiers, sailors and aircrew.
“Óglaigh na hÉireann offers a chance for successful applicants to BE MORE with fully funded education and training, with skills not available elsewhere that develop confidence, leadership and teamwork.”