Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Medical treatment of military personnel is carried out as far as possible in a military hospital or other medical facility under the auspices of the Army medical corps. If the necessary treatment is outside the scope of the Army medical corps, non-commissioned personnel, including recruits, are referred for treatment in the public health service. Such personnel, in common with all citizens, are eligible for treatment as public patients in public hospitals.

The position with regard to recruits is that, under the provisions of Defence Forces regulations, each recruit must within a period of three months following the date of attestation be either finally approved or discharged in accordance with the provisions of the regulations. A recruit shall not be finally approved until he or she is considered suitable in all respects, including meeting the required medical standards for service in the Permanent Defence Force.

The regulations provide that in circumstances where recruit training has been interrupted or delayed, the three month period may, with the prior permission of the deputy chief of staff, be extended to a maximum of six months from the date of attestation. In determining the date by which a recruit shall be finally approved or discharged, periods of sick leave, special leave or privilege leave may, at the discretion of the deputy chief of staff, be excluded.

A recruit discharged from the Permanent Defence Force on the grounds of not having been finally approved for medical reasons may reapply for consideration for enlistment at a later date when any medical treatment required has been completed. Applicants are now required to satisfy the military authorities that they meet the minimum medical standards and other criteria for enlistment.

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