Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Could the Minister go back to subhead A6 for a moment? Could he inform me as to whether this particular budgetary outlay would cover the availability of doctors within the Defence Forces to perform medical examinations for members of the Army Reserve? The Army Reserve came before the committee recently and we heard that many of the available hours for such medical examinations were carried out during traditional working hours which required them to take time off work. Given that the Defence Forces operate on a 24-7 basis, 365 days a year, could an allowance be provided within the budgetary framework the Minister has put before us today for such appointments to be accommodated on weekends and evenings, for example?