Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Justice Mahon is very welcome to this afternoon's meeting. I also welcome the person in the ombudsman's office, Mr. Brian O'Neill, who prior to Mr. Justice Mahon's appointment was very responsive, together with the previous ombudsman, to any request my office put in. I am delighted to see Mr. O'Neill taking notes and keeping abreast of what goes on with the Oireachtas committee.

I wore the uniform, and I should say I wore rank while in uniform on my sleeve and not my shoulder, not that it makes much difference these days. One matter that seems to come to Mr. Justice Mahon's office is bullying in the workplace. In my later career as a teacher and trade union official, bullying was a matter that frequently came to my attention. I am acutely aware of the difference between bullying and robust management, and how one sometimes morphs into the other. When we are running potential non-commissioned officer courses or similar courses in the cadet college, should there be a module dealing specifically with bullying, how to recognise it and how to avoid being caught in a bullying argument or complaint?