Vol. 395 No. 3
16 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline the regulations applicable in the Defence Forces in regard to hair, beards and dress; his views on whether these regulations are in line with modern living conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Detailed instructions are issued by the military authorities which prescribe the components of the various types of military dress and the circumstances in which they may be worn.
In the interests of neat appearance, hygiene and certain operational requirements in regard to the use of equipment such as respirators, minimum standards are laid down for all ranks in relation to hairstyles, moustaches and beards.
A major review of these instructions was undertaken in 1986 and there are arrangements for their periodic re-assessment to ensure that they continue to meet modern service requirements.
Will the Tánaiste agree that having arranged for members and the Chief of Staff to visit a number of European countries, including Denmark and Italy, the time has come to relax the regulations to allow, for example, members to wear beards or other facial hair and that it is somewhat of an anachronism that regulations are so strict?
When the last contingent of men came back from UNIFIL operations in Lebanon I thought they all looked fine and healthy and had good burgeoning hairstyles. There was not any great Prussian style discipline in what I saw in regard to moustaches, hairstyles and so on.
I know that the bronzed and serried ranks of the soldiers coming back from Lebanon look nothing but fine and upstanding, but I am being serious in that it is time to reconsider these matters when the Minister establishes Defence Force representative groups, and that the risk is that the existing strict regulations might inhibit that type of debate and development.
I agree, and I do not believe in being very fussy about those matters. Provided discipline is right the cosmetics are secondary.
Deputy De Rossa is a good example of that. He is an excellently disciplined leader.
Excellent.
A beard does nothing to inhibit discipline.
Was it any of these conditions in relation to dress, hair or whatever that lead to the establishment of the principle within the Defence Forces that women could not be promoted to posts involving combat duty?
That is a separate matter, Deputy.
It is blatantly sexist, and it has nothing to do with——
It is an area in which I will be as fair as possible with regard to meeting what has been said here by Deputy McCartan.
