Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)

As I was a member of the Permanent Defence Force for three years I have a good understanding and knowledge of how the Defence Forces work. Subsequent to the enactment of Defence (Amendment) Act 2007, which modernised the military justice system, a number of issues have been identified which need to be addressed to ensure the smooth operation of the system.

The first point concerns the provision relating to the post of director of military prosecutions and a military judge. To qualify for appointments to either, a person must be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force and be a practising barrister or solicitor of ten years standing. This criteria means the post is open to the limited number of qualified personnel in the Permanent Defence Force for such posts. The second issue relates to the post of military judge. Given the scale of the military justice system, one military judge has been deemed suitable to undertake the case load. However, if an officer who is appointed a military judge has a previous involvement in the case, is ill or absent or for some other reason is unable to carry out his or her functions, there may be a need for an alternative judge. Such a scenario is not provided for at present and to address these issues, the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2011 provides for the amendments to the Defence Acts to expand the potential candidates for the appointment to the post of military judge and the director of military prosecutions to persons other than members of the Defence Forces and for an amendment to the power of the selection committee to determine a candidate's qualifications for the appointment of these posts. In relation to the alternative judge, it also provides for the appointment of a Circuit Court judge to perform the functions of the military judge while the military judge is not available for whatever reason.

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