Maximum age for recruitment into military reserves to be set at 53
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The maximum age for recruitment into the country’s military reserves looks set to increase to 53 following discussions between the Department of Defence and groups representing the back-up force.
Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin recently announced that he is increasing age limits for recruitment and retirement for members of the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF).
The new limits, which come into effect on March 29, allow recruitment age for frontline military to be increased from 26 to 39, with mandatory retirement increased by a couple of years to 60.
Discussions have taken place between the Office of Reserve Affairs, which is run by the PDF, and officials from the Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association (RDFRA) on increasing the recruitment age for reservists.
RDFRA general secretary Neil Richardson told the that following these discussions the Department of Defence had said it would announce an upward entry age for the reserves in the next few weeks and he is “cautiously optimistic” this will be set at 53 years.
“The idea is to get recruits into the reserves who have left the PDF and bring back those who have left the RDF [Reserve Defence Forces]. Both would possess the specialist skills that we need,” said Mr Richardson.
However, he said he believes that the mandatory retirement age for RDF personnel will be set at the same 60-year limit as their counterparts in the PDF.
The reserves have suffered a major decline in numbers in recent years.
Mr Richardson said there is a "very healthy" line of applications to join the reserves at present, but warned that administration and medical testing are slowing down the process.
He said that a proposal to outsource medical examinations to a private company had not come to fruition.
However, a new proposal has been put on the table to initially allow an applicant’s GP to provide a certificate to allow them to undertake basic training. When this is completed, a PDF doctor would have to sign off on a medical/fitness examination.
Mr Richardson said that, unlike the PDF, reservists do not have to pass medical/fitness examinations on a yearly basis, with some exceptions. They have to undergo these examinations if they are going on courses or if they are signing up to join overseas missions with their PDF colleagues.
Reservists are allowed to partake in overseas missions since the Government introduced the Defence Forces Amendment Act in 2021.