Peter Fitzpatrick
Question:367. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Defence the current measures that are in place to encourage more women to join the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47624/21]
View answerTuesday, 5 October 2021
Questions (367)
Written answers
It is Government policy to increase female participation rates at all levels of the Defence Forces in order to increase capability and to better reflect the society from which the Defence Forces are drawn and serve.
As of 31 August 2021, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) stood at 8,550 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) personnel. Of this some 603 personnel or 7% were female, broken down as follows:
- Army: 492 Female Personnel
- Air Corps: 39 Female Personnel
- Naval Service: 72 Female Personnel
In line with current policies and commitments a number of initiatives have been implemented to increase the level of female participation in the Permanent Defence Force. For example:
- Special consideration is paid to women as a target group for recruitment within the general recruitment framework.
- A Gender, Equality and Diversity Officer has been appointed to promote gender equality policies and training within the Defence Forces. The Defence Forces are committed to gender equality and employ a gender perspective in the planning and execution of operations both at home and overseas and in all policies and regulations. Gender Advisors are available to all Brigades and Services and trained Gender Focal Points are deployed with all overseas units and ships in order to promote a gender perspective in operations.
- A Defence Forces Women's Network was established with the aim of increasing the participation of female personnel at all levels of the organisation.
Over the lifetime of the White Paper on Defence, a number of projects will be progressed to encourage more women to apply for the Defence Forces and to increase female participation at all ranks.
In addition, 15 projects, undertaken to facilitate the implementation of the Public Service Pay Commission Report on Recruitment and Retention, are mostly completed.
I listened with concern to the women who recounted their experiences on the Women of Honour programme on RTÉ Radio on the 11 September 2021.
Last week, I met with participants from the Women of Honour group and with a group of serving female members of the Defence Forces, where I had the opportunity to listen carefully to their experiences, in what were very informative meetings. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the women, both former and serving members, for highlighting this serious matter and for taking the time to meet with me. Participants from the Women of Honour group met with the Secretary General and a senior official from my Department recently and I understand this was also a productive meeting.
It is clear to me, the Chief of Staff, and the Secretary General that there are very strong views that the culture that is pervading, and the application of the current policies, systems and procedures in place for dealing with bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault have not, and are not, serving all Defence Forces personnel well. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to anyone who has suffered during their time in the Defence Forces and to assure them that the State will carry out an Independent Review, which will be undertaken by external and entirely independent and unbiased experts in this field. This Review will examine the effectiveness of these policies, systems and procedures.
The terms of the Review, which are in the process of being finalised, are being reviewed in light of recent meetings with the Women of Honour group and with serving female personnel. Further engagement with the Women of Honour Group on the Terms of the Review is proposed. In addition engagement with other stakeholders, including with the Representative Associations, is also scheduled, and will additionally inform the terms.
In addition, I will be shortly announcing interim measures for the Defence Forces supporting Dignity in the Workplace which will be open to both serving and former members.
The Commission on Defence Forces established in December 2020, is due to report by end December 2021 and their views will additionally be an important aid to the Independent Review.
Finally, I wish to assure the Deputy that I, as Minister, and both the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General are fully committed to ensuring that each and every single member of the Defence Forces, both male and female, has the right to be treated with respect, equality and dignity and to carry out their duties in a safe workplace, underpinned by a culture of zero-tolerance for any kind of bullying, discrimination, or harassment.
The Government remains committed to a policy of equal opportunity for men and women throughout the Defence Forces and to the full participation by women in all aspects of Defence Forces activities.