Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday last, following Cabinet approval, I announced the establishment of a judge-led independent review group to examine the effectiveness of systems, policies and procedures dealing with workplace issues relating to bullying, discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the Defence Forces.

The independent review will be undertaken by former High Court judge, Ms Bronagh O’Hanlon, who will be the chairperson; Mark Connaughton SC, who was recommended by the Attorney General's office; and Ms Jane Williams, a HR consultant who has worked with the commission for the last 12 months. I thank the members of the review group for agreeing to undertake this significant piece of work. The independent review is seen as a critical and vital next step to ensure the workplace for serving members of the Defence Forces is safe, where there is zero tolerance of unacceptable behaviour and where we learn from historical experiences.

My Department and I have engaged extensively in recent months with the Women of Honour group and other stakeholders, including both serving and former members of the Defence Forces; the representative associations; PDFORRA; the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO; the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association, RDFRA; and a second group representing former members. These engagements have brought serious issues to my attention, which indicate that it is not just an historic issue, unfortunately. Incidents of alleged unacceptable behaviour are continuing to occur. Current and former members of the Defence Forces have been clear that the culture that is pervading and the application of those policies, systems and procedures for dealing with unacceptable behaviour have not and are not serving all Defence Forces personnel as well as they should be. A further round of engagement with stakeholders took place on Tuesday afternoon last when I provided an update to stakeholders on the Government decision to proceed with the independent review. This was the seventh meeting at senior level that has been held with the Women of Honour group since last September, three of which I attended personally.

Current and former members of the Defence Forces have welcomed the review. While I acknowledge the disappointment expressed by the Women of Honour group, which has been seeking a commission of inquiry, I am strongly aware of the need for immediacy of action to ensure safety of serving Defence Forces personnel. I want to be clear that this does not preclude the Government from considering further bodies of work that may be necessary. The review group has been specifically asked to advise on whether further work is required to examine issues of an historic nature and to make any recommendations regarding how this might be pursued.

See this speech in context