MORE THAN 900 people recruited to the Defence Forces left after less than five years of joining the military since 2020.

New figures show how 837 men and 65 women resigned their post without having even completed five years of full service.

This included members from across the force from cadet to commandant according to data released by the Defence Forces.

The Defence Forces strength in numbers has been in decline in recent years and fell below 7,500 last year.

The figures show that 43 cadets and 637 recruits left the military within five years of having joined up in the period since 2020.

A further 7 apprentices, 175 privates, and 11 corporals also departed not long after becoming members of the Defence Forces.

The data showed 11 corporals and 5 sergeants, whose careers appeared to be progressing well, left the military as well.

There were departures too from the commissioned ranks with 2 ensigns, 4 lieutenants and 4 sub-lieutenants leaving within five years.

In addition to that, 7 captains and 7 commandments also resigned their post not long after becoming members.

Overall, 902 people left within five years of joining between 2020 and 2024, with 199 departing during the course of last year.

Defence Forces spokesman Commandant Conor Hurley said retention was influenced by a variety of factors including terms and conditions, job satisfaction, workplace culture as well as broader socio-economic factors.

He said there were ongoing efforts to support keeping people in the Defence Forces and that last year there was a 70.6 percent increase in the number of inductions to the Army, Air Corp and Naval Service compared to 2023.

That saw 708 people sign up as compared to just 415 the previous year.

Comdt Hurley said: “[This] was the first year of net growth in the numbers of Defence Forces personnel since 2017.

“This highlights significant work being conducted by [the] Defence Force Recruitment Office.”

He said recruitment and retention initiatives included increased access to private medical health care, an increased mandatory retirement age, family friendly overseas deployments, and a patrol duty allowance for members of the Naval Service.

Comdt Hurley said that in common with many peer organisations, they did face a “challenging environment” in attracting and retaining talent especially at a time of almost full employment.

He added: “The Defence Forces is a fundamental and trusted institution of the state that is transforming through investing in infrastructure, military capability and most importantly our people.”