ONLY SEVEN WOMAN have been inducted into the Defence Forces since the beginning of 2023. 

Of 617 applications received in 2023 from women, only 63 applications are still “live” and just one candidate has been inducted so far.

Six of the seven women who joined the Defence Forces this year applied in 2022, according to figures released by the Department of Defence to Independent TD Violet-Anne Wynn.

“The revelations around Women of Honour have been a major obstacle, and a serious source of negative PR for the Defence Forces,” she said.

The Tánaiste and the department need to look at how they’ve been addressing and dealing with Women of Honour, as a lot of women, and a lot of potential recruits are looking at how this is handled, and it will impact whether or not they choose to apply.

Reacting to the figures, the Taoiseach said today that he was worried about the low level of female recruitment into the Defence Forces. 

Speaking at an event in Louth, Leo Varadkar said: “I am worried about the low level of women in the Defence Forces. I think there’s a cultural problem, and we know some of the issues that have arisen, and we’re working on changing that with the Chief of Staff and his team.”

The figures show that 246 women who began the application process did not attend for psychometric testing. A further 151 candidates failed the test, while 45 applicants failed to attend the fitness/medical test.

Figures provided to The Journal show that there was a total of 4559 male applications. Within the male cohort, 61 applicants failed the fitness/interview portion of the process, while 300 did not present for medical/fitness test.

The Naval Service has suspended its use of psychometric testing during their recruitment process on a six month pilot scheme.

Defence sources said that the high drop out rate in the Defence Forces recruitment process may be linked to long wait times during the application process. It is understood that this is a common reason for recruits to not complete the application process, of which the psychometric test is the first step. 

Many applicants find the long wait times – in some cases as long as four months – between stages of the application process too onerous, and simply seek alternative employment.

Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, said that “the military authorities continue to keep psychometric testing, and all other aspects of recruitment, under an ongoing review, to ensure it continues to effectively determine suitability for entry to the Defence Forces”.

“Special consideration is paid to women as a target group for recruitment within the general recruitment framework and the High Level Action Plan agreed by Government on the Commission on the Defence Forces contains a range of recommendations designed to assist in increasing female participation in the Defence Forces,” he said in his response to Wynne’s parliamentary question.

With reporting by Niall O’Connor.