Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have five petitions for consideration. Petition 14/22, on raising the upper age limit in the Defence Forces, is from Mr. Stephen Martin. The petitioner considers that current upper age limits for joining the Defence Forces are restrictive and, as a result, there is a risk the Defence Forces are missing out on suitable candidates who are keen to join but cannot because of their ages. The committee secretariat wrote to the Department of Defence about this petition and the Department responded, providing information on the current age limits for general service, technicians, cadets and certain specialist positions. The Department advised there are no plans to change the upper age limit. The recommendation is the correspondence from the Department be forwarded to the petitioner for comment and that we consider adding this to our work programme for the coming year, should time allow. Do members have views on this?