Mr. Martin Cooney:

There is. Much is dependent on the goodwill of one's employer. An employer pays an employee to do a job. I can turn up for part 1 of my medical only to be told that the doctor will not be available until 2 p.m.. If, as in my case, it takes almost an hour to get to the establishment where the medical is to be done, I would not be inclined to return to my employment at that stage. Yesterday, a man who turned up for his medical, having taken a day off work for it, was told he would not be seen at all. Employers can only have so much patience. They are, after all, paying employees to do a job rather than sit in the Defence Forces medical establishment.