Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No member of my parliamentary party has a conviction for domestic, sexual or gender-based violence. If they did, they would not be in it. The Defence Forces need to adopt the same approach. I am so proud of the men and women who serve in our Defence Forces. We need to have the zero-tolerance culture embedded in everything we do. We to set up a tribunal of inquiry to investigate the serious cultural issues there.

I take the point the Deputy makes about the regulations and I will liaise with the Tánaiste, who is also Minister for Defence, in respect of this matter. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has an important and positive role to play on this issue, working in close concert with the Tánaiste. I am grateful to the Tánaiste for the excellent work he is doing in this space. I know the Chief of Staff is committed to working in this area too. We have to use the events of the past few days as a serious wake-up call to make sure that zero tolerance is embedded in every area, including the Defence Forces.

We expect the highest standards of the men and women who wear our uniform.

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