The High Court has reserved judgment on a challenge by a female former Army recruit to her discharge from the Army in 2002 on medical grounds despite being the only female recruit in her platoon to complete a route march.
Sharon Canavan (23), Stonebridge Park, Rochfort Bridge, 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 which, she said, a surgeon had described as neither a major nor worrying problem.
The Defence Forces dispute her claims and plead 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 January 31st, 2002 and that her medical records also disclosed ongoing presentation to the medical services during that period.
It is also claimed that she was frequently absent from training from October 2001 and that her attitude to training was "inappropriate". A report on her second bout of training with the Mullingar-based platoon recorded she had missed 60 per cent of training or 32 of 53 working days.
The court heard 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 there. Of four female recruits, she 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 be passing out due to her fitness level. She was discharged in February 2002. She alleges the procedures to effect her discharge breached Defence Force regulations.