Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Merely stating on the form that one had childhood asthma should not exclude an individual from joining the Defence Forces. The provisions do not say that. There must be an individual medical assessment of how the applicant is at the time of the application, not what occurred simply during childhood. There may be more to the background of this matter than the Deputy or I are aware. Where an applicant to the PDF is found to be medically unfit the medical officer will normally advise as to the reason and I would be very surprised if the applicant was declared unfit because he had had childhood asthma. There must be more to that.

Regarding a review, an applicant who is found to be medically unfit and wishes to appeal is advised as to the appeal mechanism and any representations he or she wishes to make may be considered. If this applicant has not appealed, he should do so. The appeal mechanism consists of an independent medical examination by a medical board of the applicant and his or her clinical history. The medical board is specially convened for that purpose and comprises two medical officers unconnected with the original medical examination. The Deputy may wish to inquire whether this individual filed an appeal, followed that process, if not, why not, and whether he was informed. If an issue arises, the Deputy is very welcome to communicate with me privately about the matter and I will have it looked into.

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