The First Line Reserve is composed of former members of the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) and, as of August 2024, had a strength of 167.

In order to provide sufficient paid training days to sustain this strength, the Steering Committee recommended the withdrawal of gratuities from members of the Reserve and a re-allocation of the budgetary provision for gratuities of €0.9 million to provide sufficient paid training days for members of the Reserve.

[7] Prof Michael Mulqueen in his 2009 book titled Re-evaluating Irish National Security Policy: Affordable Threats?

A reorganisation plan envisaged 2,600 of the State's 12,000 Reservists being offered training up to the level of full-time soldiers, in preparation for overseas service.

This seemed to suggest that in time, while the permanent Army concentrated on overseas missions [...] part-time soldiers would take their place in duties defined broadly enough to encompass everything from flood relief to anti-terrorist patrols.

"[17] The White Paper on Defence published in 2015 by the Irish government sets out plans for a "Specialist Reserve" to be created within the Defence Forces, to augment professional skills that may not be readily available within the PDF, such as ICT, medical, ordnance, heavy vehicle mechanics and engineering professionals.