Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The age profile of the Permanent Defence Force is presented in a tabular statement which follows. There are no plans at present to extend the retirement age of officers or other personnel in the Defence Forces. The 2000 White Paper on Defence and the earlier Defence Force review implementation plan both identified the requirement to address the high age profile of the Defence Forces. The plan recommended reductions to retirement ages in an effort to address the age profile and fitness of the Defence Forces.

The retirement arrangements for officers and other ranks differ. However, the key element in military life — the need for personnel to maintain a level of fitness for combat readiness — is similar throughout the Defence Forces. This requirement must be balanced with the need to retain experience and expertise, particularly at managerial level. Apart from the overriding requirement of combat readiness, any increase in retirement ages would have cost implications and would affect the career path of personnel further down the ranks. While it would permit some personnel to lengthen their careers, it would act as a disincentive for others whose career aspirations would be diminished.

Very few officers currently retire at age 54 in the rank of captain or age 56 in the rank of commandant. This information will be circulated to Deputies. Officers more commonly retire from the rank of lieutenant colonel at the maximum retirement age for that rank, which is 58. A claim to increase the mandatory retirement age to 60 years for officers serving in ranks up to and including lieutenant colonel was received from the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers under the conciliation and arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force. The claim has been the subject of correspondence between the Department and the representative association. The Deputy will appreciate that as discussions under the scheme are confidential, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the matter at this time.

In the case of enlisted personnel, persons who enlisted in the Permanent Defence Force before 1 January 1994 may be permitted to continue in service up to the age of 60 years. However, the retirement arrangements are different for persons who enlisted on or after 1 January 1994. Enlisted personnel in the rank of private may not automatically continue beyond 12 years' service, and enlisted personnel in the rank of corporal may not serve for more than 21 years. Enlisted personnel in the rank of sergeant may be permitted to continue in service up to the age of 50, while those in higher ranks may continue in service up to the age of 56.

Neither the Defence Forces nor my Department maintains comparative data on the age profiles of other armies within the EU. It should be recognised that the profile of national armies varies considerably between countries in terms of both their make-up and their roles. Consequently, it would not be possible to make a meaningful direct comparison of age profiles with these armies.

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