Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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135. To ask the Minister for Defence his views on the Adjudicator's Report in relation to the 21-year soldier; and his plans to implement the findings. [11639/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I, along with my colleague Mr Brendan Howlin, T.D., Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, have accepted the findings of the Adjudicator's Report in respect of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) claim under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme in relation to the service limits for Privates and Corporals who enlisted post 1 January 1994.

The report of the Adjudicator was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 4 March 2015.

Military life places unique physical and psychological demands on individuals and 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.  To this end, it is vital the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised in any way.

I believe that the key elements of Defence Forces manpower policy have been maintained with this finding.  The adjudication strikes a reasonable balance between the need for regular throughput/turnover of personnel, while also retaining appropriate experience and expertise.