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O'Dea Prioritises Greater recruitment of women and Greater opportunities for promotion from within the ranks

Speaking following his visit today to Dun Ui Mhaoiliosa (Mellows Barracks) in Renmore, Galway, the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea stated:

"Throughout my nationwide tour of barracks I have been struck by the sheer professionalism and dedication of our Defence Force personnel. The Irish Defence Forces have seen huge improvements and development since the publication of the White Paper on Defence back in 2000.  We are now exactly half way through that programme and I am extremely pleased to report that my Department's commitments in that Paper are being met to deadline."

"The significant level of investment by this Government into the Irish Defence Forces has ensured the quality of training, equipment and facilities have improved dramatically over the past eight years and morale has never been higher. Nonetheless, during the course of my nationwide tour of barracks and one-to-one discussions with troops on the ground I have been struck by two key areas in which I believe more work needs to be done:

1.  Greater recruitment of women and,
2.  Greater opportunities for promotion from within the ranks."

"The number of woman recruited each year is in direct proportion to the number of women applying - approximately 9%. While a lot is being done already to encourage more women to apply, I intend to review the measures in place over the coming weeks with a view to maximising the number of women applicants into the Irish Defence Forces. As a former Junior Minister with responsibility for Equality issues, I have considerable experience in this area. I believe it is important for me now in my capacity as Minister for Defence to ensure a career for women in the Defence Forces is fully promoted and encouraged for the benefit of this country as a whole."

"I am also determined to see that more is done to remove the glass ceiling to promotion in the army. Every private soldier joining the army should have a reasonable expectation of being promoted to senior officer level by virtue of his ability and character. There should not and must not be any hint or taint of eliteism in the modern Irish army. Work on this issue is ongoing as part of the Integrated Personnel Management System (IPMS), but I want to see speedier progress on implementing a more active programme of commissioning from the ranks. Again, I will review, in detail, work undertaken in this area to date," concluded Minister O'Dea.


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O'Dea Prioritises Greater recruitment of women and Greater opportunities for promotion from within the ranks


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