Louise O'Reilly
Question:
266. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Defence the total number of medical assessments completed for the PDF and RDF, by year, and medical assessment location such as (St. Bricin’s, Cork, Athlone, or other relevant individual facility); the number of formal medical appeals submitted by applicants in each of those years, by the original medical assessment facilities; the outcomes of those medical appeals, specifying the number that were successful (upheld) and the number that were unsuccessful, categorised by medical assessment facility, in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14183/26]
View answer
The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from military authorities, who have indicated that it has not been possible to collate the data within the time frame available. I will revert to the Deputy when the information has been provided.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Orders.
I refer to the above-referenced Parliamentary Question and the information requested is set out below:
The total number of medical assessments completed for the PDF and RDF, by year, and medical assessment location such as (St. Bricin’s, Cork, Athlone, or other relevant individual facility)
The total number of medical assessments completed for the requested period, broken down by year and medical assessment location, is included at Annex A below. These figures are inclusive of both the PDF and RDF.
The number of formal medical appeals submitted by applicants in each of those years, by the original medical assessment facilities; the outcomes of those medical appeals, specifying the number that were successful (upheld) and the number that were unsuccessful, categorised by medical assessment facility, in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form
I am informed that the Defence Forces has received the number of formal medical appeals by personnel set out in the tables below over the relevant period.
Members of the Defence Forces are assessed under a number of different medical criteria, for which they receive a graded medical classification. Their overall classification may impact on the duties that a member may perform. Members who are classified as Grade X are deemed to be below Defence Forces medical standards and may be considered as unsuitable for service. These appeals have been included separately below.
|
|
|
|
Appeals to Medical Classification
|
|
Year
|
No. of Appeals
|
Appeal Location
|
Appeals Upheld
|
|
2023
|
30
|
1 Bde – 21
2 Bde – 9
|
0
|
|
2024
|
22
|
1 Bde – 18
2 Bde – 3
NS – 1
|
4
|
|
2025
|
13
|
1 Bde – 9
2 Bde – 2
DFTC – 1
NS – 1
|
4
|
|
2026
|
5
|
2 Bde – 3
DFTC – 1
NS – 1
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
Appeals to ‘X’ Grade Classification
|
|
Year
|
No. of Appeals
|
Appeal Location
|
Appeals Upheld
|
|
2023
|
27
|
1 Bde – 12
2 Bde – 12
DFTC – 3
|
0
|
|
2024
|
21
|
1 Bde – 5
2 Bde – 12
DFTC – 2
NS – 2
|
0
|
|
2025
|
16
|
1 Bde – 3
2 Bde – 7
DFTC – 3
Air Corps – 1
NS – 2
|
1
|
|
2026
|
1
|
2 Bde – 1
|
N/A
|
I am further advised by the military authorities that information is not readily available for the precise origin of individual medical appeals. While the Formation/Service to which a patient belongs is readily identifiable from the medical IT System, collation of precise location data would require the examination of individual paper medical records for the patients in question, which is considered unfeasible given the time required and the prioritisation of current staffing resources.
