Vol. 502 No. 3
181 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of Army officers are no longer being employed after 5 May 1999 as a result of a hearing test; if his attention has further been drawn to a particular case (details supplied); the reason for this hearing testing; if this is a practice of the Defence Forces; and the reason this officer is being dismissed if he is of good behaviour and has a good record. [7634/99]
The Military authorities advise that there are no commissioned officers who are due to be retired from the Permanent Defence Force on medical grounds. The Deputy may be referring to non-commissioned personnel who enlisted for five year engagements in 1994 and whose service engagements would be due to expire this year. Any such personnel who have applied for extension of service must meet minimum medical standards under a number of headings, including "Keenness of Hearing". Personnel who wish to extend their service must have "Keenness of Hearing" not lower than grade 2. The current minimum medical standard for extension of service is prescribed to ensure only personnel who are medically fit to perform all military duties are permitted to extend their service.
