Fianna Fáil has criticised the government for letting the number of permanent Defence Forces personnel fall by almost 300 in two years.

Jack Chambers said that figures released to his party showed that the force had 8,751 permanent members on May 31. The government’s policy is to have 9,500 active personnel, with up to 500 recruits and cadets in training, but this target has not been reached for the past five years.

Mr Chambers said that the latest figures may be inflated.“Bear in mind that it is likely that some 500 or more personnel are in training so the effective strength is probably closer to 8,000,” he said. “We now have a Defence Force which is 749 members below its approved establishment strength of 9,500.