The minimum height restrictions for the Defence Forces was lowered today opening the doors for thousands more women to enter the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service.
On the back of a report from military officials, the minimum height requirement was reduced from 5'4" to 5'2" in order to increase the number of female members who currently make up only 5% of the 10,500 strong force.
Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said this would increase the potential female recruitment pool by 9,000 as the current minimum height requirement of 5'4" could only be met by 60% of all 18-year-olds.
"There are no restrictions or barriers to females serving in any appointment or in any rank. Selection and promotion is based solely on merit," he said.
"This differentiates us from many other defence forces that have a slightly higher percentage of females serving in their ranks but close some operation roles to women."
Mr O'Dea said height was not the only issue restricting the recruitment of women to the ranks. "I am taking the first step in removing obvious inhibitions which prevent women coming into the Defence Forces, so certainly my target is to increase substantially from the 5 per cent that is there at the moment," Mr O'Dea said.
He said further research has been initiated on the recruitment and retention of women in the defence Forces, which will examine women's attitudes to military life and careers.
Mr O'Dea said all types of discrimination was prohibited within the Defence Forces.
He said the Defence Forces had followed the recommendations of the Doyle report into bullying — designating people to deal with complaints, establishing a confidential telephone service and appointing an Ombudsman for the Defence Forces.
PA