Vol. 483 No. 2
112 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the reported levels of hearing loss in young people applying as recruits to the Irish Defence Forces; and if his Department will undertake research on this matter. [19814/97]
I am informed by my colleague, the Minister for Defence, that following the recent recruitment campaign it has emerged that up to 8 per cent of young people applying for the Army have failed the hearing test. Arising from this the Department of Defence has commissioned a study in order to establish the normal range of hearing in the population throughout Ireland.
While there are currently no proposals in my Department to undertake research into hearing difficulties in the younger population, my Department will liaise with the Department of Defence in relation to the study it has set up.
