John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 609: To ask the Minister for Defence the average term of service of Defence Forces personnel medically discharged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31687/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 610: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel who have been discharged since the Gleeson report with less than the maximum of 31 years or 21 years and less, who were not A1 medical; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31688/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 611: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel with more that three years service but less than 21 years service who have been discharged since the Gleeson report; the number of these who were officers; their average length of service; the types of pensions they have received since the Gleeson report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31689/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 614: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of voluntary early retirements there have been since the Gleeson report; the number which were less than A1 since the Gleeson report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31692/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 615: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of persons who have taken voluntary early retirement since the Gleeson report and who have received medical or service pensions; the number who have not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31693/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 609 to 611, inclusive, and 614 and 615 together.

I am informed by the military authorities that, since the publication of the Gleeson report in July 1990, 293 members of the Permanent Defence Force have been medically discharged. The average length of service of these personnel was 16.3 years. I am advised by the military authorities that the number of Permanent Defence Force enlisted personnel who have been discharged since the Gleeson report with less than 31 years service and less than 21 years service is 9,182 and 6,096, respectively.

The number of Permanent Defence Force personnel who have left the Permanent Defence Force with more than three years service and less than 21 years service since the Gleeson report is 4,084. This figure includes 430 commissioned officers who retired or resigned in this period. The average length of service of all of these personnel was 12.7 years. The number of Permanent Defence Force personnel who have taken voluntary early retirement since the Gleeson report is 2,180. This figure includes officers who left the Permanent Defence Force before their mandatory age of retirement and those persons of all ranks who availed of the voluntary early retirement, scheme in the period 1996-98. A total of 1,509 personnel availed of the scheme in the period 1996-98. All superannuation benefits of former members of the Permanent Defence Force are based on pensionable service and retiring rank, payable by way of pension and-or gratuity in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Defence Forces pensions schemes.

The additional statistical information requested by the Deputy regarding the medical categories of those discharged and the pensions awarded is not readily available in either electronic or paper format. Such information could only be obtained from examining the personal and pension files of each member who left the Defence Forces over the past 15 years. This task would involve an inordinate amount of time and resources, which I do not consider warranted by the public interest.