The Taoiseach has described difficulties in recruiting women to the Defence Forces as a "core" problem for staffing in the organisation.
Leo Varadkar said that there are more than 7,000 men in the Defence Forces and if half of that number of women - 3,500 - could be recruited, then the force would be fully complemented.
He told reporters that he believed that "cultural" problems in the Defence Forces needs to change and the Government is working with the Chief of Staff to achieve that.
Mr Varadkar said that the plan is to have 10,500 members of the Defence Forces.
"If we had half the number of women as we have men at the moment, we'd be exceeding that target," he added.
Figures provided by the Department of Defence to Independent TD Violet Anne Wynne show that just one woman was inducted into the Defence Forces this year.
Of the 617 women who applied this year, 480 were unsuccessful. The figures showed that 397 either failed or did not attend the mandatory psychometric test for entry to the Defence Forces.
These low numbers come at a time when the Defence Forces is trying to increase female participation.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Ms Wynne, said that while she was not surprised by the findings, she never imagined that just one woman would be inducted into the Defence Forces this year.
"The numbers are a true reflection of the lack of confidence that the public have and in particular women have in the management and the organisation of the Defence Forces in its entirety and the lack of a meaningful response from Government," she said.
Ms Wynne said she could not understand the lack of urgency from the Government around this matter and described their constant deflection from the issue as a "major red flag."
She said the Tánaiste’s commentary, reaction and response at this time had not been helpful.
"They have (the Government) 80% of the 38 early actions from the high-level action plan now completed, it's not having the desired effect, obviously," Ms Wynne added.
"They are not heeding the concerns, in particular from the Women of Honour I mean, they have had to further campaign, which is truly shocking, for a full statutory tribunal of inquiry to be held in public.
"I think now, now that we know that only one has been inducted, there needs to be a reflection on that."
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One earlier, Honor Murphy of the Women of Honour campaign group said she was disappointed but not surprised by the figures.
She said that she was encouraged that people seem to be listening to her group and making informed decisions instead of going into the Defence Forces blindly.
Ms Murphy said the plan by the Defence Forces to achieve 35% female recruitment was unrealistic.
"I worked at the Defence Forces recruitment in the Naval Service before I left, and that was only two and a half years ago, and we were trying to achieve a 10% female [recruitment] and we could not get that 10%," Ms Murphy said.
"So, 35% is absolutely, definitely unrealistic."
She added that encouraging more women to join the army and naval services was a complex issue that needs to be looked at in its entirety.
"If the tribunal has the right terms of reference, and we get to the root of all the problems in there, then there is a hope of changing that," she said.
