Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Women of Honour as well. I echo the sentiments of my colleagues and commend those who are engaged in this process. Their persistence and determination is an inspiration to us all. The publication of this report is a step in the right direction but it makes for harrowing and distressing reading. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people I am privileged to speak up for those who have no voice and who are locked out and downtrodden. It should go without saying that abuse and harassment of any kind are totally unacceptable in any workplace and we as a society must show zero tolerance towards it. Sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace is utterly terrible and leaves survivors feeling alone and vulnerable. Survivors were not believed or protected, and those responsible were not adequately investigated and removed from positions of power. Those who reported these incidents had their trauma and harassment compounded by the systems and power structures in place in the Defence Forces. Those responsible were allowed to retraumatise and revictimise survivors with impunity; not only that but many of these perpetrators were actually promoted. It beggars belief that people would be rewarded after committing such acts. We as elected representatives must do the right thing by the men and women of the Defence Forces who find themselves the targets of abuse and harassment. We must safeguard their safety and wellbeing as they safeguard ours. Despite the contents of this report, most of the men and women who serve in the Defence Forces are of the highest moral quality and serve with distinction and utmost honour. All Defence Forces personnel should be treated equally, with dignity and respect at work.

The Minister needs to engage actively on this and implement the steps outlined in this report as a matter of the utmost urgency. Otherwise the damage done will simply be beyond repair. I know of Deputies and other representatives within my constituency who have the ear of the Government and who have not delivered on a timely solution to the terrible treatment of our Defence Forces personnel. Need I remind the Minister of the brave whistleblower who bought all of this to light, in particular the ongoing depraved sexual abuse in the Curragh Camp? We are all aware of the courageous whistleblower who gathered information going back decades and brought this matter to light. It has been two years since I brought this information forward to the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Simon Coveney, and called for the establishment of an inquiry into the allegations of systematic sexual abuse and the covering up of sexual abuse. I call for a full statutory inquiry into the allegations of abuse, harassment, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and reprisals following engagement with the internal system.

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