Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
252. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of persons in receipt of a pension from his Department arising from their service in the Defence Forces who received a medical discharge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28522/23]
View answerPensions for former members of the Defence Forces are governed by the provisions of the Defence Forces Superannuation Schemes for service pensions, and the Army Pensions Acts for disability pensions.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to quantify fully the number of personnel who are in receipt of a pension and who were retired or received a medical discharge on the basis of being Below Required Medical Standards. The reason for retirement or discharge in individual cases is not normally held on the pension payroll, as it may not be relevant to payroll operations.
Retirement or discharge for being Below Required Medical Standards is not recorded on the pension payroll in circumstances where personnel have attained the minimum service required to qualify for immediate payment of a service pension as the reason for retirement or discharge has no impact on pension benefit and is not required for pensions purposes.
Retirement or discharge for being Below Required Medical Standards is recorded on the pension payroll in circumstances where personnel have not attained the minimum service required to qualify for immediate payment of a service pension on retirement or discharge. This cohort can be readily identified and I can confirm there are 328 such cases.
