Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2023
363. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of females serving in the Permanent Defence Force; the number of same for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8721/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs at 31 January 2023, the number of female personnel in the Permanent Defence Force was 563.
The table below shows the number of women in the Permanent Defence Force in each of the last 5 years.
|
Year |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
|
Total |
564 |
598 |
603 |
598 |
601 |
The Defence Forces are an equal opportunity employer and, in addition to increasing overall capacity, it is Government policy to increase female participation rates at all levels of the Defence Forces to reflect the society from which the Defence Forces are drawn and serve.
The White Paper on Defence contains a number of projects with a view to increasing participation of females in the Defence Forces. Furthermore the High Level Action Plan agreed by Government to implement the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces contains a range of projects designed to assist in achieving the target rate of 35% female participation. An example of this is the early action to appoint a gender advisor at Colonel level in the Defence Forces, which has been accepted in principle and is being progressed.
In line with current policies and commitments, a number of initiatives are already in place with a view to increasing the level of female participation e.g.
- A Gender Equality and Diversity Officer has been appointed to promote gender equality policies and training within the Defence Forces.
- A Defence Forces Women's Network was established with the aim of increasing the participation of female personnel at all levels of the organisation.
In addition, special consideration is paid to women as a target group for recruitment within the general recruitment framework.
