asked the Minister for Defence the number of female members in the Defence Forces; the number of these who are of (a) private and (b) officer rank; and the percentage of the number in the Defence Forces represented by these figures.

There are ten female officers, 41 female other rank (including three Cadets) and 87 members of the Army Nursing Service in the Permanent Defence Force. These numbers represent 0.93 per cent of the total strength of the Permanent Defence Force.