Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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That is where I share the concern expressed by Senator Flaherty. For victims, what the ombudsman termed "inappropriate sexual behaviour" or the sexual violence experienced by women - not only women but mostly - in their workplace can have a massive traumatising impact on individuals. A person might not even be able to acknowledge that for years, much less make a complaint. As the ombudsman says, his office is independent of the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence. That should be the place to which people can go. We have referred to the limitations on investigations that can take place internally. Does the ombudsman think there is scope for that 12-month timeframe to be revisited? It is probably fairly obvious from what I have said that I do think there is such scope, specifically in cases where we are talking about traumatised victims who, for very good reasons, lose faith and confidence in the mechanisms that are available to them, who have in the ombudsman an independent person, office or entity which is independent of their bosses, the Department and the Defence Forces but to whom they are going to be barred from taking their issue because of that 12-month limit. It is not a feasible timeframe for victims and survivors of that kind of traumatic abuse.