Mr. Eddie Mulligan:

We were disappointed that the Minister, in recent public engagements, talked about how disappointed he was that the percentage of women is so low in the PDF but did not mention that the RDF has been leading the way with such high figures. In my unit in Waterford, we have 40% women. There is major female integration throughout the RDF. The White Paper quoted the request by the Secretary General of the United Nations that consideration be given to the contribution of female soldiers to the United Nations operations. This is an area in which women in the RDF can contribute to the PDF. We have women in Waterford RDF who are qualified watch keepers. We have three officers being commissioned at the end of the month, two of whom are marine watch keepers, a qualification which takes considerable study and experience to achieve. One is a pilot on the River Thames and comes back and forth and lives in Waterford. Another is a master mariner undergoing training to become a master of vessel. We could have missed out on those commissions if our age limit had been lower.

We have women in the RDF who are counsellors, who have third level qualifications and who make major social contributions through a wide diversity of civilian jobs. Their expertise would be very applicable to a woman-only unit going overseas, particularly in gender-sensitive peacekeeping roles. It is a major way the RDF could contribute. Women would be preferable in situations in which military or paramilitary forces may have been the perpetrators of violence against women. Given that the women of the RDF are not full-time soldiers, they would gain much credibility serving with an overseas service. This is commonly used in our sister organisations.