Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The table contains the number of female personnel who left the Permanent Defence Force in each of the years 2010 to 2014.

Year	Number
2010	12
2011	25
2012	22
2013	29
2014	28

The Government is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for men and women throughout the Defence Forces and to the full participation by women in all aspects of Defence Forces activities. However, a key impediment in achieving greater female participation is the lack of female applicants relative to males. Recent recruitment campaigns have sought to target potential female candidates and such efforts will continue.

As part of the 2014 recruitment campaign for enlisted personnel and the Reserve, specific efforts were made to increase the number of female applicants. These efforts included school visits, media engagement including national and local radio, targeting sports clubs and the use of social media. At the closing date for the 2014 recruitment campaign there were 749 Female applicants or 10.3% out of a total of 7,303 applicants for the Permanent Defence Force. On the face of it these figures appear to be disappointing. However, I believe that a key issue in recruiting and retaining female personnel lies in societal perception and attitudes to female soldiers and officers. I am hopeful that through continued engagement and communication, this perception will change over time.