Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has still not answered a very basic question. Did Mr. O'Toole tell him that, given the terms of reference, he was not in a position to examine the protected disclosures as requested? Did he flag this in advance of completing his report, because it strikes me as quite improbable that he did not? The Minister asked whether we can proceed to look at the toxic chemicals and the effect on the health of those soldiers while litigation is ongoing. There may well be litigation in train but that does not preclude us from investigating the toxic chemicals to which they were exposed and the likely impact on their health of that exposure.

Will the Minister of State authorise an independent and comprehensive health assessment of the informants' claims and of the Defence Forces' health and safety record in dealing with hazardous chemicals over the past 25 years? Ultimately, we must ensure that this inquiry takes place and that we look into the real impact on the lives of the individuals that were affected. As I have stated previously in this House, if the State is in some way responsible for a negative impact on the health of serving and former members of the Defence Forces, then we need to stand up, take ownership of that, not hide behind the litigation and put in place a proper health package for those people. Will the Minister of State do that?

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