Only 6% of Defence Forces are women

Women account for just 6% of the country’s defence forces and hold none of the top positions in army, naval service or air corps, figures from the Department of Justice show.

Of the 9,000 people in the Defence Forces, only 562 or 6.15% are women. That compares to 10% of the forces in Britain and 14.5% in the US.

The 562 women here include 467 in the army, 28 in the air corps, and 67 in the naval service.