Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister is saying and we are not at odds on this issue. My point is that people should be able to continue to serve where they are capable of doing so, have the necessary level of mental and physical fitness and in the context of the huge investment the Defence Forces have made in their training. Changes have already been made in that commandants can now serve until they are 58 years of age and lieutenants until age 54. Members of the Garda Síochána and prison officers, who have fairly onerous responsibilities, can now serve until the age of 60. When one does a comparison between the exit age this 21-year rule imposes on Defence Forces personnel, one sees it is very much out of kilter with that which applies to the permanent defence forces in other countries. We should by all means use the mechanisms to which the Minister referred to address this issue but, ultimately, he has a critical role to play in resolving it.

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