Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Defence his views on setting a world standard by introducing a legislative restriction explicitly guaranteeing that children under the age of 18 will not participate in hostilities, become a target of attack or be sent to serve abroad as part of the Defence Forces under any circumstances. [2954/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I do not intend to raise the minimum age for recruitment to either the Permanent Defence Force or to the Reserve Defence Forces to a minimum of 18 years of age.

The Deputy's question may refer to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in May 2000.

Ireland signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 7 September 2000 and ratified the instrument on 18 November 2002. The text of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict is available on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs (www.dfa.ie). The position is that Ireland is, in fact, fully compliant with the Optional Protocol.

With reference to the terms of the Optional Protocol, the particular matters for which I have direct Ministerial responsibility relate to the recruitment to, and the deployment within, the Defence Forces of persons who are under 18 years of age. The position with regard to the recruitment and deployment of persons under 18 years of age within the Defence Forces is briefly as follows.

PDF Service Overseas

All military personnel who are under 18 years of age are specifically precluded from any service abroad under the terms of the policy of the Defence Forces, as enunciated in Defence Forces Administrative Instructions.

PDF Service at Home

As general service enlistment is immediately followed by a basic training period of several months, before the recruit is 'passed out' as an active member of the Permanent Defence Force and therefore liable to the normal range of military duties, the possibility of a 17 year old soldier being exposed to a 'hostile' incident on duty at home is, in reality, quite small.

Service in the Reserve Defence Force (RDF)

As regards the Reserve Defence Force, there are about 350 or so serving members of the Reserve Defence Force aged 17. Members of the Reserve are not accepted as being trained to the minimum standard required for Reserve operations until they have completed their 'Three Star Private' Course which is conducted in the second year of service. Therefore, as 17 is the minimum age for RDF entry, Reserve entrants are not eligible for Reserve operations until they are at least of age 18. Members of the Reserve are precluded from 'Aid to Civil Power' operations within the State. Similarly, members of the Reserve cannot serve overseas.

Minimum Age of Recruitment to both PDF and RDF

Under Defence Forces Regulations and Administrative Instructions, the minimum age for 'general service enlistment' to all branches of the Defence Forces is 17 years of age. This is also the minimum age of entry for cadets who enter the Permanent Defence Force to undergo a structured intense programme of training of more than 12 months duration which leads to the award of a Commission as a junior Officer.

There is one exception to the legal minimum age of 17 provided for in military Regulations. These Regulations currently permit the recruitment of trade 'apprentices' for the PDF specifically as trade apprentices from the age of 16 onwards. Such 'apprentice' entrants are assigned to special technological courses of training and study lasting for 3-4 years, both within military colleges and at civilian colleges. Any apprentice recruit aged 16 at entry would be 19-20 by the time they qualified in their technical/ technological specialty. Apprentices are not assigned to any military duties at all until they have fully completed their specialist technical/technological training. In recent years, in any event, the actual administrative practice has been to set the minimum entry age for PDF apprentice entrants at the same level as General Service Enlistment i.e. a minimum age of 17 years at entry.