Vol. 498 No. 2
81 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Defence the number of deafness compensation claims made by discharged or retired personnel from the Permanent Defence Force; the number of these claims made outside the statutory time limits under the Army Pensions Act, 1980; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26853/98]
142 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Defence the number of loss of hearing claims made by serving members in the Defence Forces; the number of claims made by ex-members to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26883/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 142 together.
Of the 13,717 hearing loss claims which have been made against my Department, 8,146 have been received from former members of the Permanent Defence Force, while 3,967 claims have been made by serving members of the PDF. The remaining 1,604 claims are from serving or former members of the reserve. The vast majority of these claims have been made outside the statutory time limit of one year during which a disability pension must be claimed under the Army Pensions Acts.
