Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

It might not be any harm if Deputy Deenihan's suggestion were taken on board and we were all made to retire at 55.

Deputy Deenihan mentioned there were more people in receipt of Army pensions than there are serving Army personnel. I do not know whether that is the case, although the numbers are close. I will find out for the Deputy. Even if it was the case, however, it would not worry me unduly. People put in their service on the basis that they will get a pension after so many years and when they retire they are entitled to their pensions. Army pensioners tend to be healthy people and have comparatively long lives.

People retire at a younger age in the Army. They have to do so because they need to clear the way for younger people who have reasonable expectations of promotion but do not wish to spend their whole lives waiting to be promoted. In addition, the Army age profile needs to be reasonably low because the role of the Army has changed considerably in recent years. The focus is now on peace support operations abroad. When one considers environments such as Liberia, the Lebanon, the Balkans or Chad, one realises that a certain minimum level of fitness is essential. I remember headlines some years ago, before some of the recommendations in the first White Paper were implemented by my predecessor, former Deputy Michael Smith, in which the Irish Army was dubbed "Dad's Army".

On the question of figures, the average age——

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