John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. We have no major difficulties with this legislation. As the Minister stated, it is about bringing best practice into the collection of evidence within the Defence Forces. There are other concerns in that we need to ensure that military law is brought up to the same standard as civil law.

If it is allowable, the Minister might perhaps give us an update in that regard. There is no set period to cover arrests or detention periods within the Defence Forces, which is an issue of concern. There is no stipulation regarding the extension of arrest periods either or who has the authority to extend those periods. That is a cause of concern. I believe a piece of work was being done on amendments to the Defence Act. It is important that the collection of evidence and use of DNA are dealt with. That is also critical work that is needed to ensure there are clear lines in terms of who has powers over periods of detention, etc.

It is not often that we have the Minister before the committee to discuss defence-related matters. If it is allowed, I ask him to take the opportunity to give us an update on the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. Will he indicate when the Government will respond to the report? There were many conversations in the media about our neutrality and what it means and may potentially mean into the future. It would be useful to get an insight or update on the ongoing work as regards disseminating the report and formulating a review in order that we can have a conversation and debate on what the Defence Forces will look like in the future.