Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No, that is not circumscribed by this at all. The prohibition of the military right to strike is fundamental to the maintenance of military discipline, guarantees the provision of defence and secures the other services of the Government, and clear and specified provision must be made in legislation under the Defence Forces regulations to guarantee the availability of military capabilities to avoid any potential ambiguity or legal loophole that may be subsequently exploited by individuals or associations before the courts to the detriment of military discipline and the effective command and control of the Defence Forces. That is the advice we received on that.

Subsection A1 refers to making “without prior authorisation from the member’s commanding officer, a public statement or comment in relation to a political matter or matter of Government policy”. I have said I am prepared to look, in advance of Report Stage, at the issue of Government policy. I accept the breadth of that. My view is we need to reflect on that a bit more, and I do not want individual members to be inadvertently caught up in something whereby they could be victimised, for example, in the context of general commentary.