HC Deb 10 March 1989 vol 148 cc41-2W
Mr. Holt

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many citizens of the Republic of Ireland enlisted in Her Majesty's forces in each of the past 10 years.

Mr. Neubert

The following information is available:

Royal Navy/Royal Marines
(Non-commissioned personnel only)
Number
1983–84 9
1984–85 22
1985–86 9
1986–87 3
1987–88 8

Notes

  1. 1. Figures show number of personnel recruited directly from the Republic of Ireland. It is not possible to identify Irish citizens who may have been recruited in the United Kingdom.
  2. 2. It is not possible to specify if the personnel recruited from the Republic of Ireland have Irish or dual Irish/British nationality.
  3. 3. Figures for officers and for non-commissioned personnel prior to 1983–84 and details of classification by nationality could only be obtained by examining individual records at disproportionate cost.

Army
(officers and non-commissioned personnel)
Number
1978–79 93
1979–80 70
1980–81 69
1981–82 20
1982–83 21
1983–84 27
1984–85 59
1985–86 64
1986–87 70
1987–88 76

Note:

1. The figures cover those recruits with Irish nationality and also include some personnel holding dual Irish/British nationality.

Royal Air Force
(officers and non-commissioned personnel)
Number
1979 27
1980 19
1981 10

Number
1982 10
1983 7
1984 10
1985 3
1986 10
1987 8
1988 3

Notes:

1. The figures cover those recruits with Irish nationality and also include some personnel holding dual Irish/British nationality.

2. The figures are for calendar years; those for the RN/RM and Army are for financial years.