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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedure was followed by the Honours and Distinction Committee to ascertain the eligibility of members of the Royal Irish Regiment claiming accumulated service medals, but for whom the necessary records were not available. [119344] Mr. Spellar: [holding answer 17 April 2000]: I have been asked to reply. The Royal Warrant for the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal specifies that the award to Royal Irish Regiment personnel is dependent upon completion of 1,080 operational duties for full-time members, and 1,000 operational duties for part-time members. In the absence of contemporary local records, the Ministry of Defence has introduced a protocol to assist applicants in providing evidence of their operational service. Dedicated teams have been established to help applicants with their cases and each applicant is allocated his/her own case officer. As the qualifying criteria for the medal remain unchanged, there has been no need for my Department to consult the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee).

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

348 c425W; 119344

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Army Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals Eligibility Northern Ireland Medals Military decorations Royal Irish Regiment

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk