Does the Republic of Ireland have military conscription?
Nope, the Irish Republic has always had a completely voluntary military service. Just before the Irish War of Independence, the British tried to force conscription in Ireland. Even though more than 300,000 Irish volunteers served in World War 1, and more than 50,000 died, the idea of being FORCED into it was too much, and it caused a huge backlash that inflamed tensions so much that it probably, at least in part, contributed to the sentiment that led to the War of Independence in the first place.
No. We don’t need a large force. The purpose of military conscription is to try and increase the amount of trained soldiers in the vent of a war. When you have conscription then you have a mass of trained civilians that you can call on in an emergency. We don’t see the need. We are unlikely to be in a war so we keep a small defence force that is one of the best trained in the world.
