Vol. 496 No. 4
115 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Defence the number of serving members of the Defence Forces who applied for apprenticeship training following the most recent invitation of applications; the number of members accepted and rejected; the reasons for the rejections, if any, of these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22905/98]
182 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Defence the number of serving members of the Defence Forces who applied for apprenticeship training following the most recent invitation for applications; the number of these members accepted and rejected; the reasons for the rejections, if any, of these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23217/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 182 together.
There were 20 applications from members of the Permanent Defence Forces, PDF, for the Naval Service apprenticeships competition which was advertised in September 1998 and is currently ongoing. Of the 20 PDF applications, eight were forwarded to the Naval Service for consideration for interview and 12 were rejected. The rejections were due to the applicants not meeting the eligibility criteria in relation to either age or education.
