There are just over 9,000 officers left in the permanent Defence Forces.
New figures released to Fianna Fáil reveal that the numbers have fallen again to 9,044 despite a recruitment campaign in 2016.
Nearly 700 personnel joined in the past year but there are still one hundred fewer members than at the end of 2015.
- Advertisement -
The approved strength of the Defence Forces is 9,500 members.
Fianna Fáil is calling on the government to urgently address the retention crisis.