Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed)

Professor Brian MacCraith:

I thank the Deputy for his useful comments on this. It might bring him some reassurance to know we are not an implementation body. We are an oversight body but are engaging in real time as the changes are happening. Currently, there are the changes needed to the existing complaints system and the design of a replacement. There are two things, because primary legislation will be required for the latter so we need action now. The Defence Forces and the Department of Defence are working together in coming up with options that will fulfil what needs to happen. This will not be an imposed solution as may have been the case in the past. We do not know the history of that but I certainly take the Deputy's point about both the Defence Forces and the Department themselves working together and finding mechanisms. That can be done reasonably quickly to try to avoid primary legislation for the immediate or the near-term interim reform as opposed to the long term. However, it will not be an imposed solution. It will be a co-designed solution, which is very important.

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