Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

A.

To insert the following after "terms of reference and the type of inquiry;": "acknowledging that were it not for the work of the Women of Honour group, the Canary Movement and others, these matters may never have been brought to light;"; B.

in paragraph G. to delete the words "in so far as (vii) below is concerned,";

C.

to insert the following after "in light of the responses to same;" in paragraph (vii): "(viii) investigate whether Complaints of Hazardous Chemicals were deterred on the basis of a lack of personal protective equipment or chemical awareness training; and

(ix) investigate the health, mortality and disability consequences to civilian and military personnel, their partners and children, arising from any hazardous chemical exposure;"; D.

in subparagraph (j) of paragraph (I) after the words "matters occurring within the jurisdiction," to insert the words "or the deterrence or discouragement thereof in accordance with the Terms of Reference (iv),";

E.

in subparagraph (k) of paragraph (I) after the words "from the date of its establishment" to insert the following: ", notwithstanding that the Minister for Defence may by regulation, upon request of the Tribunal, extend this period with approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas"; F.

in subparagraph (k) of paragraph (I) to delete the words "and in order to achieve this objective, the Tribunal shall be entitled to exercise a discretion in relation to the extent of the evidence that it hears and will be entitled to consider that a sample of evidence on particular issues is sufficient for it to make conclusions and report upon its findings;";

G.

after paragraph (III) to insert the following: "(IV) the Minister may make provision through the budgetary process for the provision of funds in support of the cooperation of those individuals and representative organisations whose engagement the Tribunal necessitates;"; and H.

after paragraph (V) to insert the following: "(VI) the Taoiseach shall, in advance of publication of the Report or it being laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, and in line with any direction of the High Court, make appropriate provision for a physical copy of the full Report to be provided to any individual who cooperated with the Tribunal at the earliest opportunity.".

I welcome to the Public Gallery members of Women of Honour and the Defence Forces Justice Alliance. They are very welcome and we are delighted they are joining us.

We very much welcome that a tribunal of inquiry is to be established into incidents of abuse in the Defence Forces, including the exposure of personnel to hazardous chemicals. This is a long time coming and it is long overdue. An RTÉ investigative radio documentary in 2021 brought to the fore deeply concerning and serious allegations of sexual violence and harassment in the Defence Forces. At the time, the survivors wished for a statutory inquiry into the allegations brought to light. In February 2022, the Government voted against the Sinn Féin motion to do just this and instead opted to establish the independent review group, which reported over a year later.

With nearly another year passed, the Government is finally in a position to establish the tribunal of inquiry for which survivors have been calling for more than two years. It is such delays that make it so frustrating that the terms of reference brought before the Dail are seen by the same abuse survivors as insufficient and potentially exclusionary. Negotiations fraught with poor communication on the Tánaiste's part, and a seeming unwillingness to deliver what survivors have sought and what is their right, have stoked unnecessary frustration and even a level of distrust, in particular by bringing terms of reference to Cabinet while the women and survivors themselves still believed the negotiations to be ongoing.

Without the work of survivors' groups such as Women of Honour, the Defence Forces Justice Alliance and others these allegations may never have been brought to light. It is inconceivable that the terms of reference for this tribunal would not explicitly recognise this. It is inconceivable that the decision of the Government, the independent review group and, indeed, the work of the Attorney General are acknowledged but the motion does not acknowledge the role of the survivors, including the critical defining role they played in bringing about this inquiry.

Before the Christmas recess the Tánaiste was told we would seek to amend the terms of reference in line with what we had heard from survivors. This remains our objective today. In the first instance we acknowledge the work of the survivors. The Tánaiste is familiar with the hurt caused by his comments on trips, slips and falls. Survivors have been incredibly vocal regarding their wish to see nobody within or beyond their groups being excluded from this tribunal. The Tánaiste has indicated this would not be the case but he needs to clarify how there is an inclusive approach given the terms of reference, which do read as exclusionary.

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