Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 February 2024
76. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of women in the Defence Forces; the recruitment target; the number that have left, by branch and by year for the years 2020 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6942/24]
View answerAs at 31 December 2023, the latest date for which such figures are available, the number of female personnel in the Permanent Defence Force was 559.
The table below sets out the number of women in each branch, and the number of discharges from the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service as at 31 December 2023.
|
|
Army |
Air Corps |
Naval Service |
||||||||||
|
Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
|
Female Strength |
496 |
488 |
456 |
467 |
39 |
39 |
43 |
31 |
68 |
71 |
65 |
61 |
|
|
Discharges |
29 |
35 |
50 |
32 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
In 2023, 37 female inductions represented some 9% of the total inductions of 415 personnel. This was in line with the aims of the Chief of Staff for 2023.
Special consideration is paid to women as a target group for recruitment within the general recruitment framework and the High Level Action Plan agreed by Government on the Commission on the Defence Forces contains a range of recommendations designed to assist in increasing female participation in the Defence Forces. The Government remains committed to increasing 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.
