Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

How many vacancies will be advertised or has the Minister decided yet how many places will be offered? Obviously, more people will leave from various ranks before the end of the year. Concern about the gratuity also has an influence on people's decisions. They fear the gratuity may be taxed in the budget. It would be no harm if the Minister cleared up that issue. It is important to remember that people will leave this year and more will leave next year. Therefore, any recruitment that will take place should compensate for those people.

The Minister's predecessor had a campaign to attract more women into the Defence Forces. The number of female personnel in our Defence Forces is among the lowest in Europe. Would the Minister consider making a special effort to target more female applications and to make the Army a more attractive career for women? I have been campaigning for some time for a crèche in the Curragh. Will the Minister make this a priority as the need has existed for some time?

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