Defence Forces

Tuesday, 16 November 2021

Questions (334)

Sorca Clarke

Question:

334. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of new applicants to the Defence Forces that were not offered enlistment due to below standard audiology results 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [56175/21]

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Written answers

Minister for Defence

I am advised by the military authorities that it has not been possible to gather the information requested within the time allotted. I will revert to the Deputy when the information has been gathered.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51

I refer to the above-referenced Parliamentary Questions and my original reply stating that it was not possible to provide the required information within the timeframe available.

The military authorities have now advised that where an applicant fails an initial audiology test, they are given the opportunity to repeat the test within a specified timeframe. Prior to the repeat test, where an external otoscopic examination is deemed warranted (for reasons such as infection etc), the applicant is redirected to their GP. Should the applicant fail the audiogram re-test, they are deemed to have failed their medical and thus their current application concludes.

The following table details the number of applicants to the Permanent Defence Force who failed their repeated audiology exam.

Year	Number of candidates
2018	5
2019	7
2020	5
2021*	3

*as at 23rd November 2021.