Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Justice Mahon answered a question from one of my colleagues a little while ago relating to the "Women of Honour" programme, which brought to light a worrying trend or culture that may have existed within the Defence Forces. I heard what Mr. Justice Mahon said about the 2004 Act, which gives him the powers to carry out his role. The customer charter quotes section 4(2)(b)(vi) of the Act, referring to an occasion where the subject of a complaint was an action that was "unreasonable, notwithstanding consideration of the context of the military environment". Section 4(2)(c) refers to an action that "was not an order issued in the course of a military operation". Section 6(3) of the Act states, "A complainant shall make a complaint referred to in subsections (1)and (2)not later than 12 months". I heard Mr. Justice Mahon say the content of "Women of Honour" fell outside of his jurisdiction unless there was legislative change. Is there a willingness or a desire on the part of serving members, in particular, to come forward or is there a reluctance to come forward to the ombudsman with complaints?