Vol. 495 No. 7
200 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the equivalent of a degree in information technology with reference to commissioning of information technology qualified non-commissioned officers, a requirement of which is a degree or equivalent in information technology; the number of applicants who have this; the number of applicants who hold this degree; if any non-degree holders will qualify; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21313/98]
A competition for non-commissioned personnel to be appointed to be commissioned officers in the information technology area of the Defence Forces was recently advertised. The eligibility criteria included the stipulation that applicants were required to hold a degree in information technology or equivalent. For the purposes of the competition the equivalent to a degree in information technology was deemed to be a bachelor of engineering (electronics) or a bachelor of science degree with information technology modules or content. A total of 27 applications were received, of which 20 were ineligible under the terms of the competition. One applicant was a degree holder who was ineligible by virtue of rank and the other 19 applicants did not possess the required degree qualifications.
