Defence Forces Personnel

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Questions (384)

Sorca Clarke

Question:

384. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the percentage of female recruits in the Defence Forces that progress to the upper ranks of Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. [25622/20]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The attached table shows the female strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) as at 31st August 2020, the latest date for which such data is available, broken down by ranks, service and gender. The Military Authorities have advised that the data to provide a percentage figure of those female recruits who progress to upper ranks throughout their career in the Defence Forces is not available.

-	ARMY	AIR CORPS	NAVAL SERVICE	TOTAL
LT GEN				0
MAJ GEN				0
BRIG GEN	1			1
COL	1			1
LT COL	1			1
COMDT	43	5	9	56
CAPT	41	7	11	59
LT	36	1	4	41
TOTAL OFFICERS	123	13	24	159
SM				0
BQMS				0
CS	3	3		6
CQMS	9			9
SGTS	57	6	6	69
CPLS	86	9	6	99
TOTAL NCOS	155	18	12	183
PTES	197	6	29	230
CADETS	12			12
TOTAL STRENGTH	487	37	65	584

The Defence Forces are an inclusive, equal opportunity organisation that encourages participation of women at all levels. All promotion competitions are merit based and the gender of the candidate plays no role in the selection process. They are competency based competitions and require candidates to meet qualifying criteria as laid down in promotion agreements.

The Defence Forces are committed to promoting equality in all aspects of their work and this is clearly set out in the Defence Forces Equality Policy, which commits to ensuring that the principles of equality are adhered to in all its employment policies, procedures, instructions and regulations.

The White Paper also includes further projects to ensure that the development and promotion of strategies that support female participation in the Defence Forces is continued.