John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will consider the awarding of medals as per the recommendation of a person (details supplied) at the time to the members of the Defence Forces for their actions during the siege at Jadotville; the reason the medals were denied at the time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36693/20]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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My question to the Minister relates to the awarding of medals for what can only be described as true heroism during the siege of Jadotville. In the Seanad last week the Minister made a statement on the matter and he announced the establishment of an independent review body, which I welcome. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister to elaborate on that and to state what timeframe we are looking at.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Brady for the question. The issue of awarding military medals for gallantry, MMG, and the distinguished service medal, DSM, to personnel who served in Jadotville in September 1961 has been considered on a number of occasions over the years.

The siege of Jadotville was a prominent event that occurred during Ireland's peacekeeping mission in the Congo in September 1961 where A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, came under attack. From the 13 to 17 September the men of A Company endured almost continuous attack. At the end of the siege, the men were taken into captivity until finally released on 25 October 1961.

In 1962 and 1965 a properly constituted medals board considered the issue of the award of medals, including nominations, that had been submitted in respect of a number of the men of A Company. This medals board did not award any medals whose citation that mentioned Jadotville. This decision was subsequently reviewed by the medals board and it was indicated that the issued raised had received due consideration and that the board was not prepared to alter its findings.

In 2004 a broader examination of the events at Jadotville was conducted by military officers. This board recommended that the events of Jadotville and the contribution of the 35th Battalion be given recognition. The outcome of this broader examination of the events at Jadotville has led to a number of initiatives that honour the collective actions and bravery of the men of A Company at Jadotville and recognise the very significant contribution of A Company and of the 35th Battalion, as a whole, to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo. The Deputy will receive my written reply, which goes through what we have done to date. I asked the Chief of Staff to consider this issue and he has recommended that we set up an independent expert review body to look at the issue again in the context of today's thinking around Jadotville. We hope to have that process concluded with a recommendation by the end of March.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is aware that next year marks the 60th anniversary of the siege at Jadotville. The commanding officer at that time, Commandant Pat Quinlan, recommended that 33 men from A Company, 35th Battalion, be recommended for the distinguished service medals, and that five of those men also be recommended for military medals for gallantry. I welcome that a review body has been established. Hopefully, it will validate the original recommendation from the commanding officer at the time. We are aware there was much political pressure on at the time, and there was a perception that these brave men were cowards. Unfortunately, that ultimately influenced some of the decision making at that time. Hopefully, the review panel will come back in time for the 60th anniversary and that these medals will be awarded.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is important not to draw conclusions here as to what the motivations were back in the 1960s with regard to these medals. It is important that we put in place a review body that is genuinely independent and that has military and academic expertise on it so it is considered in the full context of the questions being asked today.

We had a very good discussion on this during the Seanad debate last week. Every political party accepts that decisions on medals should not be made by politicians. Those decisions should be made by an appropriate process that ensures we protect the value of the receipt of medals. I believe everybody agrees with that, and I hope the process we have put in place now will allow for an appropriate review and for us to be able to take the appropriate action on the back of that. We will see where that leads. I certainly look forward to doing anything I can to assist that process.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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March is a reasonable timeframe for the panel to come back with the recommendations, which hopefully will overturn some of the political resistance that has existed. We need to be truthful that political resistance has existed over the past six decades.

I welcome this move. It is progress and is a step in the right direction. There has been much focus in this issue in the House, and rightly so. Quite recently, the Minister ruled out any progress on the issue, in that it would not be looked at again. I welcome that the Minister has established the independent review group and some of the people who will sit on it. Ultimately, however, we need to go back to the initial recommendations for the 33 brave soldiers, which was put forward by the officer on the ground. I look forward to a successful outcome to this lengthy process and the failure by the State to recognise the bravery of these men.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The way the process works is that people get recommended for either a DSM or an MMG. Those names then go to a medals board for assessment. Often, even though they have been recommended for medals, people are not awarded them because, for whatever reason, the medals board decides that the threshold has not been reached for the medal to be awarded. That is very much a military process, the integrity of which we must try to protect. I assure the Deputy there is absolutely no political resistance to trying to do what is right. Consider what has already happened in this space. In December 2017 a medal known as An Bonn Jadotville, the Jadotville medal, was specifically designed to recognise the role many of these men played in what was an extraordinary and courageous effort at the time.

There is a process in train now and I hope it can have a successful outcome that everybody can accept. I will come back to the House as soon as I have recommendations, and we will act on those.