Ned O'Keeffe
Question:156 Mr. N. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence the reason for the delay in implementing a specific course (details supplied) for the Naval Service. [27753/03]
Written Answers. - Defence Forces Training.
A total of 31 non-commissioned officers have been commissioned as officers in the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service in the past five years. Potential officers' courses are held for non-commissioned personnel from time to time within the Defence Forces. Personnel who successfully complete such courses are commissioned as officers in the Permanent Defence Force. Participants on such courses are selected on a competitive basis. In addition, from time to time non-commissioned personnel who hold appropriate qualifications are commissioned to fill specialist appointments where vacancies arise. Eligible non-commissioned personnel may also apply for the annual cadetship competitions.
The requirement for potential officer courses and commissioning from the ranks competitions is reviewed from time to time and is being specifically addressed in the context of the integrated personnel management system, or IPMS, which is one of the major policy initiatives provided for in the White Paper on Defence. The IPMS will make specific and ongoing provision for the introduction of regular schemes to commission enlisted personnel as officers in the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. A proposed IPMS has been prepared by the military authorities and is now being considered by the Department's civil-military strategic management committee.
Draft conditions governing the appointment of enlisted personnel of the Permanent Defence Force to be officers of the Naval Service are under discussion with the representative associations. As the discussions with the representative associations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment on any of the specifics of the proposed draft conditions. However, it is the intention that a potential officers course will be run as soon as those discussions are completed.
The Feely report referred to by the Deputy was, I understand, an internal military discussion document and does not form my Department's policy in the area of commissioning from the ranks.