A military doctor has gone to the High Court to compel the Minister for Defence to allow her resign from the Defence Forces.
The doctor, Capt Lisa McNamee, first put in her resignation papers last February following six years of service with the Defence Forces and multiple overseas postings.
However, the Department of Defence has refused to process her application unless she pays a sum of almost €90,000.
According to documents seen by The Irish Times, the department claims Dr McNamee owes the Defence Forces three years further service under the terms of the undertaking she signed when joining.
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Otherwise, she must pay €86,829, the equivalent of the salary she received while working on secondment with the HSE as part of her Military Medicine training programme. The five year programme is designed to train doctors to be both military medicine specialists and general practitioners.
However, Dr McNamee has argued her employers did not fulfil their side of the agreement as the military training programme did not function properly and had no oversight or exam process.
She has argued she never received a qualification in military medicine, as detailed in the undertaking. Her employers claim that because she received a GP qualification, they have fulfilled their side of the agreement.
It is understood the doctor now wishes to take up an offer from an advanced studies course but cannot do so until the matter with the Defence Forces is resolved. The offer is due to expire soon.
On Monday, Dr McNamee lodged papers in the High Court indicating her intention to sue Minister for Defence Micheál Martin and the State in relation to the matter.
It is understood she seeking a court order compelling the State to allow her resign her military commission without financial penalty.
Dr McNamee’s case is further complicated by the department’s inability to locate a copy of the agreement it signed with Dr McNamee when she joined the Defence Forces, according to internal documents.
Her case has been taken up by Independent Senator and former Army officer Tom Clonan who said previously the doctor is being “press-ganged into staying with the Defence Forces”.
Mr Clonan, who has sought a meeting with Mr Martin on the matter, said the controversy will discourage other young doctors from joining the Defence Forces at a time when it is in drastic need of medics.
The medical corps currently has 20 doctors, five short of requirements. Only about 10 of these doctors are capable of being deployed on overseas missions.
This has resulted in gaps in medical cover during peacekeeping missions, with doctors having to be deployed for shorter periods rather than full tours. Last year, 130 soldiers had to deploy to the Golan Heights in Syria without a medical officer as none were available.
In a statement, the Department of Defence said the Defence Forces are responsible for the Military Medical Scheme.
“The Defence Forces cannot locate the specific undertaking but do have other documentation to that effect. These undertakings are the basis on which all education is undertaken in the Defence Forces and this is standard practice in public and civil service,” a spokeswoman said.
She added that “military management are in agreement regarding the application of all undertakings”.
