Defence Forces

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Questions (637, 638, 639)

John Brady

Question:

637. Deputy John Brady asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current number of women in the Defence Forces, by rank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63568/22]

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638. Deputy John Brady asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current number of women in the Defence Forces who are currently serving overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63569/22]

View answer

John Brady

Question:

639. Deputy John Brady asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of women members of the Defence Forces who left in 2022, by month; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63570/22]

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Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Defence

I propose to take Questions Nos. 637 to 639, inclusive, together.

As at 30th November 2022, 28 of the 569 female Permanent Defence Force personnel were serving overseas.

The requested breakdown of the total female strength of 569, by rank, is as follows:

OFFICER	LT GEN	MAJ GEN	BRIG GEN	COL	LT COL	COMDT	CAPT	LT
	0	0	1	0	2	57	49	52
OTHER RANKS	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGT	CPL	PTE	CADET
	0	0	7	12	54	97	224	14

As of 30th November 2022, 59 females were discharged from the PDF, as follows:

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov
Discharges	2	6	14	3	4	4	5	2	9	7	3

Typically, discharges include personnel who leave for a variety of reasons including on age grounds, at end of contract and voluntary discharges and would also include any trainees who exited prior to completion of their initial training.

In line with current policies and commitments, and the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces, a number of initiatives are in place with a view to increasing the level of female participation in the Defence Forces. Additionally, special consideration is paid to women as a target group for recruitment within the general recruitment framework.

I am committed to maximising recruitment and retention of personnel, both male and female, to maintain the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles, to undertake the tasks laid down by Government.

Question No. 638 answered with Question No. 637.

Question No. 639 answered with Question No. 637.