Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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282. To ask the Minister for Defence if a pension will be put in place in respect of a person (detail supplied) in County Cork; and the reason they have not been medically discharged. [42935/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Defence Forces (Pensions) Schemes the position is that for a non-commissioned officer or private of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) who enlisted prior to 1 April 2004, in general the minimum service required to qualify for a pension is 21years, or 12 years if discharged on medical grounds. The person in question was discharged at his own request, not on medical grounds, after 12 years service on 22 June 1989. The question of a medical discharge did not arise. As he had less than the required minimum service in the PDF he was not eligible for a pension under the rules of the Schemes. On his discharge from the PDF, he was paid a gratuity appropriate to his service and rank.

Under the Army Pensions Acts a wound (disability) pension may be granted to a former member of the PDF in respect of a permanent disablement due to a wound or injury attributable to military service. Under the Acts, an application for a wound pension must be made within one year of discharge from the PDF. The person in question was discharged from the PDF in June 1989 and first made an inquiry regarding a wound (disability) pension in February 1997. As this was outside of the statutory time limit it was not open to the Department to accept an application.