Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces recently appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence, Equality and Women's Rights and I was heartened by what she had to say regarding the complaints being made and the culture in the Defence Forces. I asked her whether the culture in the Army was that one should not let the side down whatever one's complaint and one should keep everything in-house. She indicated there was a healthy culture and people who worked closely together brought their concerns and complaints forward. They must first go through the Army disciplinary system before contacting the ombudsman.

As the Minister said, the culture is "evolving positively" and we should all rejoice in this, as our Defence Forces are performing to a high level in the context of respect for one another. Will the Minister confirm that is his experience since he took up office? Has there been a significant change in that regard? What is the rate of change? A few years ago, there were reports that led one to believe the level of harassment, including sexual harassment, within the Defence Forces was high but the IMG and ombudsman's reports do not seem to bear that out.

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