Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am advised by the military authorities that in general, medals are awarded to members of the Defence Forces on the basis of various criteria such as their length of service, for service overseas and for acts of bravery associated with such service both at home and overseas. Defence Forces Regulation, DFR, A9 sets out the qualifying criteria required to be awarded such Defence Forces medals. This regulation also delineates the procedures for the awarding of those medals to members of the Defence Forces. DFR A9 sets out the various types of medal awards. "Medal award" serves as an overarching category and then various subcategories are further set out under each "medal award".

These subcategories are classes of award, bar to medal, investigation by military board, time limit for award, and administrative instructions. The details provided underneath each of these headings essentially lay out the protocols for the awarding of these medals.

Apart from those medals set out in DFR A9, other medals have been awarded. A recent medal awarded was the 1916 Centenary Commemorative Medal. This was awarded to all those personnel serving in 2016 in the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force. Another medal awarded was the Jadotville Medal, which was awarded to the men of A Company 35th Infantry Battalion in recognition of the courageous actions of the men during the siege at Jadotville. I was very happy to be associated with both of these medals and it gave me great pleasure to attend the various medal award ceremonies and meet the recipients. To provide for the aforementioned 1916 Centenary Commemorative Medal and the Jadotville Medal, additional stand-alone Defence Force regulations in the yearly series were made for both. These regulations were made pursuant to section 26 of the Defence Act 1954, as was DFR A9.

See this speech in context