Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The independent monitoring group, IMG, was established in May 2002 to oversee the implementation of recommendations arising from a report on the interpersonal relationships within the Defence Forces. The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, and the Permanent Defence Forces Representative Association, PDFORRA, are both represented on the IMG.

The third and most recent IMG report was published in September 2014. Among its recommendations was that a climate survey be conducted within 12 months and subsequently at reasonable intervals. A similar survey was conducted in 2008. The aim of the survey, which was conducted by the University of Limerick, was to identify trends to inform best practice in human resources management and training and education within the Defence Forces. As with the 2008 survey, approximately 11% of the workforce - 1,055 personnel in this instance - was sampled.

The report was received in the Department in June. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that, given its importance and wide ranging subject matter, it was important to have the report reviewed in detail by the Department and Defence Forces management to consider the findings and reach a deeper understanding of the report and its implications. I also wished to have an opportunity to discuss and consider the findings of the report in consultation with the Chief of Staff and Secretary General in the first instance.

It is now proper that the Defence Forces representative associations be given an opportunity to engage on the findings of the survey. With this in mind, I have arranged that the representative associations will meet personnel from the University of Limerick who conducted the survey on Thursday next, 29 September. The report will be published within a week of the meeting and I plan to meet representatives of the associations shortly thereafter. My officials are making arrangements in this regard.

My priority in the first instance is to engage with the representative associations who represent the key stakeholders in this process, namely, Defence Forces personnel. As they have yet to see the report, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific detail of the survey pending the briefing scheduled for 29 September. However, I can inform the Deputy that the findings are grouped under topics such as work life balance, peer support, organisational justice within the organisation, procedural justice, organisational fairness, Defence Forces integrity and supervisory justice.

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