Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Defence since the regiment was formed, how many persons in each full year and in the present year to date have applied to join the UDR; of these how many were accepted; how many have served and how many were rejected; how many of those who were initially rejected were later accepted and, of those, how many served; of those who enlisted, how many were later discharged as unsuitable; and what are the present strengths of full-time and part-time members, all numbers to be given for males and females, respectively, and the total numbers to be given for males and females, respectively, and the total numbers also shown in each category.
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§ Mr. Robert C. BrownNot all the information requested is available but those figures which can be provided are
A. UDR RECRUITMENT Year Number of applications Applications withdrawn Number accepted Number rejected Applications withdrawn after acceptance Servea 1972 5,239 Not kept 4,250 881 Not kept Not kept 1973 2,361 570 1,625 413 229 1,396 1974 2,945 685 1,945 382 228 1,717 1975 3,036 613 2,063 427 211 1,852 1976 3,295 658 1,833 644 191 1,642 1977 3,846 630 2,156 684 173 1,983 1978(to 1st March) 716 140 367 108 39 69 The figures do not add across in any one year due to delays in the selection process.
B. UDR MEMBERS DISCHARGED AS UNSUITABLE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS Year Discharged 1974 … 413 1975 … 352 1976 … 342 1977 … 306 1978 (to date) … 32
C. UDR STRENGTH AS AT 31ST JANUARY 1978 Male Female Officers Soldiers Officers Soldiers Part-Time … … … 326 4,792 9 631 Full-Time … … … 44 1,985 8 61 Total … … … 370 6,777 17 692
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report those factors which give a special nature to the Ulster Defence Regiment in relation to recruiting.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownIn addition to meeting the normal requirements for service in Her Majesty's Forces, in terms of nationality, medical standard and previous record, UDR members also have to be normally resident in Northern Ireland. In view of the special conditions in Northern Ireland, inquiries into an applicant's background pay particular attention to the need to maintain the Regiment's reputation for impartiality.