Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Defence to the House. I share the bitter disappointment expressed by colleagues about this report. I will address the language used as I proceed but I think it is important that we all get a chance to read the full 500-odd pages. When I raised this matter on the Order of Business this morning, the Leader stated we would have the report in our inboxes by 12 noon. In fairness to her, we did have it by noon but I have only had a chance to look at and take in the headlines.

In saying that, I will refer to a number of statements made in the Department's official press release, some of which also featured in the Minister's speech. According to the press release, the report concluded: "In relation to the possible awards of medals, the ... [Independent Report Group], having identified primary source evidence, recommends that Comdt. Pat Quinlan, Company Commander, ‘A’ Company, should be considered for a posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Medal." It noted, and the Minister confirmed this, that the Minister "intends to establish a military Medals Board to consider this recommendation without delay." It goes on to state that the independent review group "also considered all previous recommendations for military medals with respect to the events at Jadotville." Unfortunately for so many here tonight and listening in, the press statement then stated that, based on the research conducted by the independent review group during its review, the group "is strongly of the view that there is no merit to the reopening the recommendations of the 1961, 1962 and 1965 Medals Boards."

As with previous speakers, I welcome one aspect of the Minister's statement, namely, his apology in which he mentioned the deeply upsetting aftermath of Jadotville and the lack of personal welfare supports afforded to the men following those events, during their period of captivity and upon their return home. Speaking in the debate in November last, I noted that many of these men were scorned and ridiculed. They were called "Jadotville Jack" on their return home following their engagement in the Congo. As the Minister said, many of them had to live with that scorn for most of their lives.It is important to acknowledge the apology the Minister has given to the men of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion and, indeed, their families. In this regard, I also acknowledge the comments of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, who concluded: "The veterans of A’ Coy, 35 Infantry Battalion and their actions are the embodiment of our Defence Forces". Yes they are. He said those values are "Respect, Loyalty, Selflessness, Physical Courage, Moral Courage and Integrity". He went on to say, "It is a matter of much regret to me, that the values which we hold so dear, were not evident in the manner in which Óglaigh na hÉireann failed to embrace the veterans of the Battle of Jadotville on their return from service in the Congo." The Chief of Staff also said valuable lessons have been learned from this experience, and that he "trust[s] it will never be repeated".

Much has been written about what happened in 1961 and the Minister's own notes went through the timeframe of the battle exactly. Nobody has argued with that from what I have see today, but there are 500 pages. I thank the Cathaoirleach personally because he took our motion from November and we also had a very comprehensive debate, which the Minister himself attended. At that debate the Minister advised us there would be a review group to examine the case. As has been said by other speakers, over a long period of time many public representatives, from Dáil Deputies to fellow Senators to county councillors, have raised their concerns on this matter and sought a review of the engagement. I genuinely believe they did so out of a sense of public duty and public duty only. They wanted to recognise the contribution of those brave men to the Defence Forces and indeed to the UN, the flag of which they fought under. These public representatives also advocated for this out of loyalty to the families of those involved, many of whom contacted the same representatives we have spoken about tonight. Since November, a number of colleagues from the House, many of whom are here and have spoken tonight, have taken part in events commemorating those from A Company who fought at Jadotville. Most recently, we all met at the memorial in Merrion Square last month to take part in the Jadotville Challenge in aid of homeless veterans of the Defence Forces and organised by Óglaigh Náisiúnta na hÉireann, ONE, the national organisation of ex-service personnel. Such is the legacy of A Company that its memory and its deeds continue to be remembered and celebrated by public representatives and the public to this day, as they should be.

The Minister has been asked, and I ask as well, that he join in thanking all those public representatives who felt it was their public duty to bring to him the need for a review of this engagement. As I said last November, while I support the Minister's comment that politicians should not award medals, I am sure he will agree that when we are brought information about incidents such as Jadotville and about our heroes, we should bring it to his attention as the Minister for Defence in order that we can go through the due process of awarding those medals. For me, this was, and can only be about those from A Company who boarded that aeroplane to the Congo to serve their country and the UN. I make no apology for trying to represent those Jadotville families who contacted me to ask me to bring this matter into the public arena, as so many of my colleagues have done. These men are heroes and will always be heroes to so many. They, under their commanding officer, Commandant Pat Quinlan, have created a proud legacy for the Defence Forces.

I too bring up the language used in the report. I welcome the Cathaoirleach's intervention that he will write to those involved in the independent review to ask them to consider the language they have used. The language used is an absolute disgrace. Other Senators have mentioned various aspects of it, including the "Jadotville bandwagon". Who came up with such a term? Maybe the Minister might be able to tell us because I again stress my only intervention in this was to try to represent Irish heroes. That is all any of us was doing here. When we spoke in the Chamber in November, it was to represent those heroes who fought in Jadotville in 1961. We, and this is the important point, had no other agenda, and the question of whether other agendas were at play has been asked and is being asked again, and maybe that is the detail we must get to.

We have a situation tonight. I pay tribute to Senator Craughwell for the work he has done over recent years. We all joined him, as I said to him a year ago, to support that work and to get recognition for those who fought at Jadotville. I have had calls, as other Senators have said they have had, from people throughout the country, asking them what has gone wrong here. They ask why they are seeing a report where there is no recommendation of Pat Quinlan's own recommendations, which he fought for, for his comrades who fought with him in the siege of Jadotville. That is the bottom line. We are recognising Pat Quinlan as a commander but we are not recognising his own recommendations. To me, the question is why we are not doing that.

I cannot accept this report as it stands, a Chathaoirligh. I ask for another debate when time allows so we can go back here again. The Minister has said we all need to read it and I agree, but we must come back to this House. We must come back for one reason and one reason only, namely, that the heroes of Jadotville want us to come back and to get to the bottom of exactly what happened here. Time is against us. The sooner we get back here and debate what is in this report, the better. I thank the Cathaoirleach, and thank the Minister for coming to the House tonight.