Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome to our committee. I wish to be associated with the remarks of Deputies Carthy and Berry regarding our troops in Lebanon. I am a Kildare Teachta Dála and I have been contacted by a lot of families of members of the Defence Forces. While initially many of them were saying to bring them home, I have friends who served in the Defence Forces and who, while certainly not foolhardy and not holding any kind of jingoistic views either, have often said to me that, while they like coming to the aid of the civil power, such as filling sandbags if there is a national crisis, and do not mind doing that, ultimately they want to be known and respected as professional soldiers. I read a piece by Colin Sheridan the other day in the Irish Examiner which really summed it up for me that that is who they are. While they do not mind acting out of work in times of a national crisis, ultimately they are soldiers. We send them our solidarity from this committee. We want to know they are safe.

Will the witnesses explain the role of the external oversight body, and their own roles as well, in addressing any of the issues raised in the independent review group on dignity and equality, and what accountability mechanisms are in place? It can cause a lot of upset for the good, decent members of the Defence Forces but, at the same time, accountability and transparency can sometimes be ugly. It is sometimes not very pleasant but it is necessary. Will Ms Sinnamon tell us what the oversight group has in around accountability mechanisms, please?