Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would be the first to state we have faced challenges in fulfilling our gender targets. I have asked both civil and military management to look at recent recruitment campaigns and to establish the number of female applicants for the Permanent Defence Force, and how many may have fallen off by the time of interview or around the time of the medical and fitness test. This is very important information for us to have. Recruitment is a matter for the Defence Forces but I have regular meetings with them and one area in which they are very involved is focusing on women's sports and women in sport and in targeting those women.

I am conscious of the number of people who have left the Permanent Defence Force over the past two years. It was for a range of reasons but one important reason is a stronger private economy than had been the case.

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