Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Minister for Defence the extent to which he has resolved issues raised by members of the Defence Forces, who were ordinarily due to retire on the basis of years of service, but who are anxious to continue in the Defence Forces, thereby contributing to operational continuity, efficiency and experience; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7342/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As outlined previously to the House, a claim has been received from the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) in relation to this matter and it is being dealt with under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force.

Discussions have taken place with the Representative Association, with regards to their claim, under a special Subcommittee of Conciliation Council. As discussions under the Scheme are confidential to the parties involved, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the matter at this time, other than to emphasise that in dealing with this issue the manpower and operational needs of the Defence Forces must be the primary consideration.

As Military life places unique physical and psychological demands on individuals it is necessary that its members be physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations and to undertake their duties on deployment overseas.It is vital the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised. As such, in order to maintain the age profile of the PDF to carry out the operational tasks required by Government, it is necessary to have a constant input of recruits into the PDF. The maximum age for personnel who have enlisted in the PDF post 1 January 1994 provides the mechanism through which a satisfactory age profile can be achieved.

While there was significant progress made in recent discussions between PDFORRA and Civil and Military Management on this issue, it was not possible to reach full agreement. As a result, the issue was referred to third party adjudication for a ruling. The adjudication hearing took place on 30 January 2015 and the report of the Adjudicator was issued to all parties to the Scheme on 12 February 2015. In accordance with the Scheme rules there is a procedure to be followed with regard to the publication of the report in that it cannot be published before presentation to Dáil Éireann. As the report requires detailed consideration of the findings by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on this matter at this time.