Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I thank all the Deputies from both sides of the House who contributed to the debate on the Bill. Subsequent to the debate on Second Stage, I received the finalised report from the Irish Human Rights Commission detailing its observations on the proposals contained in the Bill. The report is comprehensive. I wish to record my appreciation of the valuable work done by the commission in considering the Bill. The commission emphasises that it views the main thrust of the Bill as progressive and an important step towards affording clear and consistent protection of human rights.

The commission makes several positive observations on the provisions of the Bill. Specifically, it welcomes the following: structural changes in the court martial system; the introduction of an offence of improper communication with military judicial staff; amendments made to the list of persons who may not serve on a court martial board; the amendment to restrict the role of the court martial board to making findings of fact, as a jury does in the civilian courts; the establishment of an independent military prosecuting authority, the director of military prosecutions; the system for the selection of the director of military prosecutions; and safeguards to ensure his or her independence and security of tenure. The commission raised an issue regarding the composition of the committee to select the director of military prosecutions. I amended the Bill on Committee Stage in a manner which I am satisfied will address this valid issue.

In addition, the commission's report sets out a number of reservations regarding the replacing of the former appointment of president of a court martial with a new appointment of "senior member", as well as the possibility that such an appointment could give rise to influence among members of the board. I amended the Bill on Committee Stage to remove all references to there being a "senior member" of a court martial board. I am also satisfied that there are sufficient safeguards to ensure the differences in rank of the various members of a court martial board which are both necessary and inevitable in a military force will not result in any command influence on the deliberations of the board.

The commission comments on the establishment of the new office of military judge. It views the committee involved in the selection process as appropriate. It welcomes the safeguards provided in section 34 of the Bill as significant in guaranteeing an independent and impartial hearing. It does suggest the exclusion of civilians as eligible military judges should be considered further. As I stated, had we discussed amendment No. 7, for both policy and practical reasons, it was decided to opt for a uniformed military judge. However, this new arrangement and the views of the commission will be kept under review in the light of experience.

The commission suggests the provision of legal aid for a person considering whether to elect for trial by court martial where such person is charged with one of the potentially more serious disciplinary offences listed in Part II of the schedule of disciplinary offences. I am not persuaded at this time that the provision of such legal aid is necessary, having regard to all the safeguards built into the system.

In addition to the commission's report, I have received a submission on the Bill from PDFORRA which generally welcomes the provisions of the Bill and suggests a small number of amendments. The PDFORRA submission will be considered in the context of the phase two process to further update the disciplinary provisions of the Defence Act.

The Bill represents a major advancement for the operation of the military disciplinary system. It represents a sensible and practical model. It draws on the most recent developments in common law jurisdictions and will serve us well in the years ahead. The measures included are proactive as regards human rights. Crucially, they also provide for the effective maintenance of discipline within the Defence Forces.

Once again, I thank everybody for his or her constructive and supportive engagement with the Bill in the course of its passage through the House.

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