Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will fire ahead.

Worrying reports have emerged of serious and ongoing health and safety concerns at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. There are reports of severely negligent practices concerning the handling of hazardous materials and there are a number of issues that we must address in this matter.

We have three whistleblowers who wrote to the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Defence, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy, Deputy Coveney, between November 2015 and January 2016 to warn them about the conditions at the Air Corps headquarters in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, relating to health and safety of soldiers and their handling of hazardous chemicals. The whistleblowers identified serious breaches in health and safety at the base, no provision of occupational health surveillance, lack of personal protective equipment and a lack of training on how to handle dangerous chemicals. One whistleblower is quoted as saying, "What has happened in the past and what is still happening regarding chemical health and safety in the Irish Army Air Corps is a grave scandal which I believe has seriously injured the health of a number of personnel."

If one goes back to 2013, the Air Corp safety management system carried out a safety review at the base and made certain recommendations. We have heard nothing since on that review, what recommendations were made and what implementation was carried out.

PDFORRA, the representative association for enlisted personnel, wrote to the Defence Forces separately in November 2015 outlining similar concerns at the base and stating that if the HSA was to inspect the base, the report would likely be damning. The HSA inspected the base in 2016. It made a number of recommendations which, it stated, required action.

It is my understanding that a former civil servant was appointed by the Department in September last to review the whistleblowers' claims but that the person has not contacted the whistleblowers themselves. My questions to the Minister of State are as follows. Has he made contact with the whistleblowers? If not, why? Have the Defence Forces implemented the HSA report and has it implemented the Air Corps safety management system report?

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