Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

The Minister informed us that 25 officers from the Defence Forces retired before reaching the mandatory pension age, as did 228 enlisted men. He has indicated that most of those are from the Army, but how exactly did they break down? Was there any pattern to the retirements of these people? Did it come later in the year or earlier in the year? We are dealing with a period from 1 January to 30 September. Is there a trend towards more people retiring as the year went on?

I understand people are concerned that gratuity lump sums will be taxed in the forthcoming budget. That seems to be a major issue. I congratulate the Minister on the issue relating to the 42 Army and Naval Service cadets. It was an achievement and we should acknowledge that. However, why has there been no recruitment into the Air Corps for the last two years?

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