Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 98, 102, 103, 1294 and 1296 together.

In March 2002, Dr. Eileen Doyle and the external advisory committee presented their report, The Challenge of a Workplace, commonly referred to as the Doyle report, to my predecessor. The contents and recommendations of the Doyle report were accepted in full. Action to implement the recommendations of the report has been one of the highest priorities for the Defence Forces and my Department since its publication. An unprecedented level of time and commitment has been given by the Chief of Staff personally and by senior civil and military management to address the issues raised in the Doyle report. The Chief of Staff has repeatedly emphasised his acceptance of the problems clearly indicated by the Doyle report.

The follow-up action to the Doyle report was driven by the independent monitoring group established in May 2002 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations arising from the report. This group met regularly to oversee the implementation of the report's recommendations. The group's progress report, Response to the Challenge of a Workplace, was launched by my predecessor as Minister, Deputy Michael Smith, on Friday, 24 September 2004. This report describes the progress achieved since the publication of the original Doyle report in 2002.

The monitoring group has overseen the conduct of a major educational awareness programme throughout the Defence Forces. Considerable progress has been made in the past two years. Firm guiding principles had already been set out in the Defence Forces' dignity in the workplace charter. A new administrative instruction on interpersonal relationships was introduced in March 2003 and a user's guide was distributed to every member of the Defence Forces.

The military authorities advise that since March 2003 a total of six complaints of unacceptable behaviour have been formally investigated and concluded in the Defence Forces as a whole. With specific reference to the information sought on the Naval Service, I am advised that there were no such complaints in 2002 and 2003, but one complaint in 2004. The complainant requested an apology, which was duly given and which concluded the matter. There is currently one military police investigation ongoing in regard to allegations of bullying. I cannot comment on this further at this stage as the investigation has not concluded.

Some 200 trained designated contact persons are being put in place throughout the organisation to facilitate the operation of these procedures. Approximately 177 of these designated contact persons have already been trained and a strategic plan is in place to develop the numbers up to 200. An independent and external confidential freefone helpline and counselling service has been set up by expert consultants from Northern Ireland, Staff Care Services. Each serving member of the Permanent Defence Force was informed of this new 24-hour service, which was widely publicised throughout the Defence Forces when initiated. A pilot project to record the experiences and views of outgoing members of the Defence Forces was conducted by the Dublin Institute of Technology research centre. This project, which involved confidential interviews and questionnaires, proved very valuable.

The particular challenges of the military training environment were identified in the initial Doyle report. This area has been given particular attention in the course of the past two years, especially as regards the key pivotal roles of NCOs in leadership and training within brigade formations.

The monitoring group has made a series of important recommendations concerning the ranking, selection, training and reward systems for officer and NCO instructors in the cadet school. An immediate change in the training regime for cadets will have a vital demonstration effect. Therefore, the process of introducing these changes began with the 2004 cadet intake. Some of the changes will take longer to implement and will be addressed through the conciliation and arbitration process or the overall review of the Defence Forces organisation.

The Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 completed its passage through the Oireachtas in November 2004. The provision of a statutory ombudsman for the Defence Forces will provide a further significant impetus in support of the major transformation in culture and practice which has been initiated and which is now well under way.

The Defence Forces are in the process of developing an active and strategic human resource management model of personnel management, development and leadership under the new integrated personnel management system. This is an important step that will facilitate and hasten the achievement and consolidation of our shared objectives.

The monitoring group explicitly recommended that a further independent review and audit of progress within the Defence Forces be carried out no later than 2007 and that the results should be made public. Since the publication of Response to the Challenge of a Workplace, the following action has been taken. First, a steering group has been established to oversee the implementation of the proposals that were contained in the original report. Second, a programme of briefings commenced on 16 November 2004 to ensure that every member of the Permanent Defence Force receives a comprehensive briefing on the report, Response to the Challenge of a Workplace, from awareness teams in each brigade and formation. Both representative associations, PDFORRA and RACO, will have members on the awareness teams. Members of the PDF in all barracks and posts were to be briefed before the end of 2004, with briefings of the Reserve Defence Force to follow.

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