Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The reason I ask is that in a reply to a parliamentary question by my colleague Deputy Ó Snodaigh, Deputy Coveney, who is the Minister for Defence, stated, "No functions of the Minister for Defence have been delegated to the Minister of State and full responsibility for defence policies, the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces remains with Minister Coveney who will continue to represent Defence at Cabinet." That is further evidence of the lack of seriousness in the Government's approach to this issue. That is deeply disappointing.

The Minister of State said in his opening statement that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has an immediate obligation to serving members to ensure the workplace is safe and that there is zero tolerance of unacceptable behaviour in the Defence Forces. If the Minister is so concerned with the speed of change regarding that duty of care, does he not see that the commencement of an effective and accountable statutory inquiry would lead to an immediate change of behaviour, meaning the culture of unaccountability effectively would be over? Does he not see that the resistance to the inquiry might embolden those who behave unacceptably, based on the perception that the Minister somehow has their back.

I take issue with the fact that the Government amendment states that "unfortunately the systems, policies and workplace culture in the Defence Forces have not, and are not, serving all personnel well". It is not unfortunate that somebody may be raped, that somebody may be harassed and that there are women in the position of Ms Diane Byrne, who ended up taking the State to court over the way she was treated when she was pregnant as a serving member of the Defence Forces; it is an absolute disgrace. So, too, is what happened to Ms Yvonne O'Rourke, who had to take the State to the Workplace Relations Commission and who won in December 2020 after years of battling. At that point, Mr. Bonnlander, from the Workplace Relations Commission, stated, "It beggars belief that women should have been serving in the Irish Defence Forces for decades, without the Forces' systems and instruction ever having been appropriately updated to ensure they reflect anti-discrimination law as it applies to pregnancy and maternity." Where was the urgency there? I have asked the Minister. Distinct recommendations were made by the Workplace Relations Commission, one of which was to make a payment to Ms O'Rourke for the delay in the investigation and hearing. The Defence Forces did not withdraw their jurisdictional objections earlier than the closing arguments at the hearing. That is not unfortunate; that is an absolute disgrace.

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered the Defence Forces to carry out measures to combat pregnancy-related and other forms of discrimination, with all such work to be complete by December 2021. In March 2021, I asked the Minister about this. I was told it was currently being considered. In September 2021, I asked again and was told the directions were being implemented by the military authorities. Therefore, the arguments of concern and wanting to see systemic change immediately for serving members simply do not hold up to scrutiny. The Minister of State knows as well as we do on this side of the House that the only genuinely effective mechanism to bring about the systemic change needed is a statutory inquiry. Failing to deliver on that is failing to meet not only the needs of the Women of Honour but also the needs and expectations of those who serve today, be it in the Army, Naval Service or Air Corps. It will fail to serve them in the future. That is truly not what the Minister wants as a legacy. It is a disgrace.

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