Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 17 May 2000

Vol. 519 No. 3

Written Answers - Defence Forces Recruitment.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

48 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Defence the total number of women members in the Defence Forces broken down by each rank; the proportion of the current intake of recruits expected to be female; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13682/00]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

The table which I propose to circulate in the Official Report indicates the number of women within the Permanent Defence Force as at mid-February 2000, the most recent date for which such figures are currently available from the military authorities. These figures provide a breakdown between officers and various non-commissioned ranks across each of the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps.

The military authorities advise that in previous years the trend for general service recruitment has been that 16% of all applicants have been female and that on average 16% of enlistments have been female. It is obviously not possible to predict what the relevant percentages will be in any future intakes of recruits, but there is no reason to assume that this pattern will change to any great degree.

Women are eligible for service in the Army, Air Corps, Naval Service and in the Reserve Defence Force and to compete for all appointments on an equal basis and under the same general conditions as those which apply to men. All female personnel undergo the same training and receive the same military education as their male counterparts.

In order to encourage increased participation by women in the Defence Forces I decided in March 1998 to reduce the height requirement for all female recruits to 5' 4".

Tabular Statement

Strength of Females in the Defence Forces mid-February 2000.

Army

LtGen	MajGen	BrigGen	Col	LtCol	Comdt	Capt	Lt	TotalOfficers	Sm	Bqms	Cs	Cqms	Sgts	Cpls	TotalNcos	Ptes	Cadets
0	0	0	0	0	8	31	24	63	0	0	1	1	14	42	58	236	9

Air Corps

LtGen	MajGen	BrigGen	Col	LtCol	Comdt	Capt	Lt	TotalOfficers	Sm	Bqms	Cs	Cqms	Sgts	Cpls	TotalNcos	Ptes	Cadets
0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	17	0

Naval Service

LtGen	MajGen	BrigGen	Col	LtCol	Comdt	Capt	Lt	TotalOfficers	Sm	Bqms	Cs	Cqms	Sgts	Cpls	TotalNcos	Ptes	Cadets
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	6