A young female soldier recruit has claimed she was declared unfit for the Army because of a cyst on her ovary, despite being the only female recruit of her platoon to have completed a route march from the Glen of Imaal in Co Wicklow to Glenmalure.
Sharon Canavan (23), of Stonebridge Park, Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath, claims she was told by an Army medical officer in late 2001 that she was below Army physical standards because of a cyst on her ovary. A surgeon had described it as neither a major nor worrying problem.
When she later went before an all-male Army medical board, she was told it would not alter the medical officer's grading.
Ms Canavan said she was told by one of the doctors that if she was dropped off at East Timor, they would not be able to get medication to her. She said she had replied if any other soldier was shot in the same circumstances, the same dilemma would apply.
She claims the doctor replied that somebody being shot was totally different in that it was an everyday problem, "from which I understood that my having a cyst was somehow an extraordinary medical problem".
She was discharged in February 2002, having enlisted in June 2001. In High Court proceedings, she has alleged the procedures for her discharge breached Defence Force regulations.
The Defence Forces have disputed Ms Canavan's claims and have pleaded she was properly discharged.
It is claimed she gave the Army Medical Board a history of "chronic abdominal pain" from late October 2001 up to the date of the board on January 31st 2002, and that her medical records disclosed ongoing presentation to the medical services during that period.
Lieut Commander William O'Brien, an army medical officer, said in an affidavit that he may have referred to East Timor in conversation with Ms Canavan but he did not suggest the shooting of a soldier would be "an everyday problem". Nor did he suggest Ms Canavan's medical condition was extraordinary.
He denied unfairness in how Ms Canavan's medical classification was determined, or that she was discriminated against because of her gender.
It is also claimed Ms Canavan was frequently absent from training from October 2001 and her attitude to training was "inappropriate". A report on her second bout of training with a Mullingar-based platoon recorded she had missed 32 out of 53 working days.
The court heard yesterday that Ms Canavan was posted in June 2001 to the 6th Infantry Battalion, based at O'Neill Barracks in Co Cavan and began her recruit training with the 74th recruit platoon in Cavan. Of four female recruits, Ms Canavan was the only one to complete the training.
On October 1st, 2001, a week before she was due to pass out as a soldier, she was told she would not pass out due to her fitness level. She was given the option to go back to another platoon to complete the training.
She trained with a Mullingar-based platoon until November 19th, 2001 when she received medical attention for a side pain and was diagnosed with a cyst on an ovary. She underwent a medical procedure and was told the cyst was temporary and would not need surgery or medication.
The case continues today before Mr Justice John Quirke.