Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to take the opportunity to commend once again the bravery of the Women of Honour group. This is something that will be of interest and concern to the Deputy Leader. Colleagues will have seen the reaction of the Women of Honour after their meeting with the Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney, this week. They continue to feel let down. It is really important that the Government listens to their concerns and actually acts on what they are calling for. We have heard all the right things being said over recent days and weeks.When it comes to the bit, the Government has the opportunity to stand by these women, to do right by them and to properly investigate the concerns, allegations and awful situations they faced in their time in the Defence Forces.

When we debated the defence Bill in this House before Christmas, the Minister made what I found at the time to be very sincere and robust commitments in terms of acceding to the demands of these women but it is clear, having listened to them, that they do not believe the Minister's review goes far enough. In fact, they are concerned that it has the potential to be a whitewash. These allegations, as acknowledged by the Minister and his colleagues from every party and group, are much too serious to befall a whitewash. We need a full commission of investigation with the power to compel witnesses in terms of the allegations raised by the Women of Honour group. We urgently need a comprehensive and fulsome commission of investigation. We need it to ensure that the culture and the practices that these women are so concerned about within the Defence Forces are changed. I call on the Deputy Leader to invite the Minister for Defence, Deputy Simon Coveney, to come in here and speak to us about the allegations raised by the Women of Honour group, and outline exactly what his Department intends to do. A debate would mean we have the opportunity, across the House, to raise our concerns and views, and the views expressed by the Women of Honour.