Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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20. To ask the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 132 of 9 June 2015, and in view of the fact that the case has been ongoing for over 40 years, and the fact that the relevant clause under which the person was retired from the army has been removed since 1985, the reason he has to further delay matters by consulting with the Attorney General, before initiating a review of the matter. [25093/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The individual that the Deputy is referring to was retired by the President, on the advice of the Government, with effect from a date in June, 1969. His retirement was effected pursuant to Section 47(2) of the Defence Act, 1954 and Paragraph 18(1)(f) of Defence Force Regulations A.15, which provide that an officer may be retired “in the interests of the service”. This case was the subject of a resolution adopted by Seanad Éireann on 10 March 2010. The Seanad resolution included a provision that the Government would ask the Judge Advocate General to select a nominee to carry out a review of the documentation on file to determine “whether on the basis of the documentation and information available to the Defence Forces at the time, the decision to compulsorily retire” the officer “was a reasonable one.”. As I have recently advised the Deputy, the Government remains willing to carry out this review. I am still considering the most recent advice on the matter that I received from the Office of the Attorney General. I must stress that it is in no way my intention to delay the matter any longer than is necessary. I must however reiterate that this is a serious matter that requires my full consideration. I would like again to advise the Deputy that I would hope to be in a position to conclude my consideration on the matter shortly.