Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1423: To ask the Minister for Defence the Government's views on providing service medals to persons who joined the Army in 1922 and served for a number of years; if such an initiative will be supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1940/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The following tables list the medals issued by my Department. The medals indicated in the first table are issued for service spanning the period 1916 to 31 July 1924, the date on which the present day Defence Forces were legally established. The medals in the second table are those which are issued for service with the present day Defence Forces since their establishment in 1924. No medals have ever been struck for personnel who had military service in the period 1921 to 1939, a period that includes service with the then National Army of Saorstát Éireann during the civil war period of 1922-1924. Given the unreliability of the records for that period, assessing individual eligibility would now be very problematical.