Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The linked question, No. 103, asked if the Minister's attention has been drawn to any members of the Defence Forces who have made protected disclosures to him or his Department and who have been victimised as a consequence, and the action taken to give those whistleblowers full protection. I know of one whistleblower who was discharged on Monday. The reason for his discharge was he was regarded as a maligner and an idler. I will not disclose his name because I have not spoken to him directly to allow this. He is no longer a member of the Defence Forces. He was discharged as a result of an illness he got while in the Defence Forces. He was marginalised and regarded as a person who was of no benefit to the Defence Forces.

There are quite a number of such individuals. Another former Defence Forces member has sent emails to me, which I know the Minister has received as well, and he has reminded him 70 times of a litany of sexual abuse of male members of the Defence Forces. The discloser has written to a number of people about this. The allegations made are serious in the extreme, and some of them could stand up in court. I understand the Minister's hands are tied. However, there are whistleblowers, three of whom have been discharged from the Air Corps in the past three years. That suggests there is something odd going on.

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