Helena Carreiras pointed out that "in April, the Directorate-General for Administration and Public Employment published data showing that the military is one of the categories whose average monthly pay has risen the most, more than 9%, compared to the Public Administration, which has risen 5%".

"It's an effort that the government is making to increase the average basic monthly pay for the Civil Service by 20 per cent by 2026, and it will also happen in the case of the Armed Forces," she said.

Regarding one of the changes included in the new General Tables of Aptitude and Capacity, which defines that the minimum height for general entry into the Armed Forces will drop to 1.54 metres for men and women, Helena Carreiras replied that "it is only out of ignorance" that this measure can be criticised.

"It's only out of ignorance that this kind of measure can be criticised, because the diversity of occupations, specialities, and military functions, have varying degrees of demand. It doesn't make much sense to exclude people who have skills in various areas and various specialities just because they are very short or very tall," she said.

For the minister, the new General Tables of Aptitude and Capacity - which also establish that various chronic illnesses are no longer grounds for automatically excluding candidates - are necessary and help to "broaden the recruitment base".