Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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839. To ask the Minister for Defence in respect of the 5th Engineer non-commissioned officers course run at the School of Military Engineering at the Curragh Camp from 5 of September to 22 of November, if it was necessary for all those participating on the course to complete an application form; if specific candidates were encouraged by superior officers to undertake this course; if there have been unexplained withdrawals from the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46135/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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At the outset I wish to refer to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 295 of 15 October last in which the Deputy asked for details of the number of standard NCO courses underway nationwide. In providing material to allow me to reply to Parliamentary Question No. 295 the military authorities omitted to provide information relating to the 5th Engineer non-commissioned officers course. It clearly should have formed part of the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 295. I wish to assure the Deputy that it was not my intention to mislead him in terms of the reply that I gave on that occasion and the omission of the information was due to an oversight. With regard to the 5th Engineer non-commissioned officers course, I have been advised by the military authorities that individuals wishing to complete courses such as this would normally fill out a course application form at unit level in order to apply for a place on the course. In this instance, however, I understand that there were sufficient places available to accommodate all Corps of Engineer personnel who needed to complete the course in order to qualify for promotion. I understand that all personnel of Corporal rank within the Corps of Engineers are encouraged to complete the course in order to qualify for promotion.

Finally, I have been informed that while there were no unexplained withdrawals from the course, one student returned to his Unit at his own request on the 11th of September 2013.