Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be aware of the serious concerns of PDFORRA about the decision he made to make the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces a part-time one and to appoint a retired colonel, Liam McCourt, to the position. To be clear, I do not question the character or sterling record of Mr. McCourt. The issue for PDFORRA, however, is that there was a full-time independent person in the role for seven years but now it has been given to somebody who served in the Defence Forces. Regardless of any decision he makes, this could put a question mark over the adjudication of issues that may arise. Is the Minister entirely satisfied with the decision to appoint him and does he believe it has had no negative impact on anybody in the Defence Forces who has issues he or she wants to have addressed?

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