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

The vast majority of people who serve in our Defence Forces are good people, even thought there are those who have had horrendous and horrific experiences. The failure to publish this report in the timeframe that was given by the Government is a very poor reflection. When the Minister was in Lebanon he was quoted as saying it was his intention to make sure that the recommendations contained in the report are fulfilled. Does that include taking actions in addition to the recommendations already included in the high-level action plan for the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, such as amending the complaints procedure to introduce a mechanism away from military command and into the hands of An Garda Síochána?

I am sure the Minister is familiar with Christine Whitecross, the senior Canadian military officer who was tasked with probing similar complaints within their services. She outlined that complaints being investigated by senior officers meant that they were not being correctly dealt with from the very start. Does the Minister intend, if the report recommends it, to initiate a full statutory inquiry, a State apology, and an insistence that the use of any subsequent non-disclosure agreements will only be at the request of victims and not the Department or its representatives?

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