Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I want to acknowledge his swift action and engagement since the publication of the 13 recommendations, as well as his recent engagement with various groups. He will be aware of the opposition of the Women of Honour group and others to the IRG report recommendation that membership of the external oversight body of the Defence Forces should include the Secretary General of the Department. The Women of Honour group, in particular, stated that it believed the Secretary General of the Department should not be a member of the oversight board. It called for appointees to the independent oversight board to be vetted by the Oireachtas committee.

Following his recent meeting with the various groups in response to their calls that the Secretary General should not be a member of the oversight group, what assurances can the Minister provide to address those concerns? I commend the expansion of the oversight group he outlined, such as the appointment today and others that are due to come.

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