Deadline urged for Army deafness claims

A deadline of the end of the year for the lodging of all Army deafness claims was demanded by the Fine Gael spokeswoman on defence. Ms Frances Fitzgerald said: "As more and more claims come in, and as the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, continues to perform his high-wire act, the reputation of the Army is quickly disappearing through the floor. This situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely."

Morale within the Defence Forces was at an all-time low and public confidence was diminishing fast, she said. After the deadline was set, a huge drive would be necessary to revitalise the forces.

"That new drive is still some way down the road, but what the Minister must do immediately is to set a reasonable deadline for the lodgement of claims, be that the middle or end of this year. The Minister must enter negotiations with all concerned on the broad parameters for the settlement of claims to allow for the setting up of a tribunal which would deal speedily and efficiently with them."

Ms Fitzgerald called on the Minister to end his adversarial approach and start creating structures to ensure justice for both the taxpayers and soldiers.

Senator Avril Doyle called on Mr Smith to provide the Naval Service with extra resources. "As an island nation, with 16 per cent of EU marine territory, the task in hand is impossible with only seven vessels to patrol 132,000 sq miles of water: the fishery protection of our marine assets from commercial plunder, drug interdiction, search and rescue, on top of the navy's traditional protection of the State's sovereignty."