Mr. Justice Alan Mahon:

The Senator mentioned he was proud to have worn the uniform. To clarify, I have also worn the uniform in that I was in the Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil, FCA, for two years in my late teens. I reached the dizzy heights of a three-star private before I left.

Bullying was almost unknown as a subject that was spoken about 20, 30 or 40 years ago. It is now a very real issue and in any large institution such as the Defence Forces, there must be a very proactive campaign and process to identify bullying where it exists and to deal with it. I have fairly limited information or knowledge about this but the Defence Forces of today are making a much better effort to deal with bullying and the issues arising from it. Certainly, the increase in bullying claims I thought were coming my way perhaps 18 months ago has not materialised. My hope is either there is less bullying or that what bullying is there is being more quickly identified and dealt with.