Mr. Justice Alan Mahon:

The section 114 process is quite an elaborate process. It is the internal inquiry process that the Defence Forces operate.

Looking at it, it is quite impressive in the way it works in the sense that there are at least three layers of investigation, with the last being the decision of the Chief of Staff. I would not think one would find that level of internal investigation process even in any other large organisation. Clearly, I do not always agree with the outcome of investigation being undertaken by the Defence Forces but it is a good process. To design it any better would probably be difficult. All these processes are ultimately dependent on who is operating them on the ground.

I have a fair degree of jurisdiction but there are some areas that perhaps, in fairness, in 2004 would not have been thought of as being terribly important. There are certain areas that really need to be updated and many of them relate to interpersonal matters, such as bullying, gender issues, sexual harassment and so on. One of the categories I can deal with, and I have done so on a couple of occasions, is where something is improperly discriminatory. I can deal with discrimination based on gender, for example, and I have had cases relating to pregnant women in the Defence Forces and women on maternity leave. Matters of that nature have arisen in a very small number of cases. I am satisfied I have jurisdiction to deal with those.

What concerns me is a case that has now become very topical with the "Women of Honour" programme, and that is a case where somebody makes an allegation of sexual harassment against another member of the Defence Forces and similar areas such as certain types of bullying. It is in that area I would like to see some added jurisdiction. Cases falling in those categories have been very few and far between to date but I expect, because of all the publicity in the past few months and particularly relating to the "Women of Honour" programme and so on, that the numbers of these cases will increase. I would like to be better able to deal with them.