Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I thank the Minister for clarifying the position and for confirming that he is committed to the Bill, to what it proposes to do, and that he is prepared to put the resources of the State behind the bringing forward of any amendments that are required to make this Bill work.

I am a former member of Óglaigh na hÉireann and am very proud of that. I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for doing something that should have been done a long time ago to enshrine the name "Óglaigh na hÉireann" and to make it available to only one organisation in this country. My colleagues mentioned PDFORRA and RACO. We should also have put the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association, RDFRA, into the mix because during the time when I was in the Defence Forces the Reserve Defence Force was available to this State at weekends and at night when we were short of personnel and when we needed to protect the State and its citizens.

It has always been a bugbear of mine and of those of us who have served that frequently we found ourselves in a situation where we were searching houses in this country during the time of the kidnapping of Tiede Herrema and Don Tidey, and that those were the houses of people who were known sympathisers of a republican movement who regarded themselves as members of Óglaigh na hÉireann. The only people who had the right to use that term were those of us who stood in the uniform of the State and who stood to protect it in every way. It is a matter of deep regret to me that people putting themselves forward as Óglaigh na hÉireann killed members of both the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána under the name that they were pursuing at the time, whatever the hell it was. It is vitally important and is a matter of respect for those who serve. I know that the Minister has been aware for some time of the Respect and Loyalty movement which exists in the country among veterans but that is a topic for another day and time. Today is about this Bill.

Former members of the Defence Forces have always resented the fact that people have used the title "Óglaigh na hÉireann" and, indeed, have put it on headstones when the people that we are talking about were not members of Óglaigh na hÉireann, did not wear the uniform of this State, did not stand guard on the Border or on vital installations in this State, and did not disrupt the movements of terrorists who used this country to propagate attacks in Northern Ireland. We are talking about a step in the right direction today towards respect and recognition for those who served.My colleagues and former colleagues will be extremely happy with it.

I would hope this is the first step in what I call restorative justice in the Defence Forces, because the Defence Forces, and this is a discussion we can have at another time, needs to go back through its history and recognise the actions and deeds of members of the Defence Forces who put their lives on the line regularly for this State. We know the Jadotville issue has gone a particular direction but there are other great deeds that were carried out by members of the Defence Forces both here in Ireland and in various other parts of the world: Lebanon, Chad and so on. They have never been recognised for the things they did. In a period in our history when we are pursuing restorative justice in other areas of Irish society, it would be a great act of loyalty to those who served if the Chief of Staff initiated a period of restorative justice and an examination of the history of the Defence Forces over the past 100 years to see where acts that were carried out and not recognised might be recognised now.

I was in Longford on Sunday at the removal of Quartermaster Sergeant Michael Tighe. Meeting his daughters was a truly emotional event. They spoke about Michael’s actions both in the tunnel and Jadotville. It is a sad situation that families believe they have been neglected and overlooked. This is not an issue for the Minister because he cannot do anything about the type of justice of which I speak. He is not in a position to do that. From the first day he tries to do something like that, he will have people such as me jumping down his throat asking why he is interfering in the military. He is the Minister and he can ask the Defence Forces to do things but it must make the decision itself.

Rightly or wrongly I am using my platform today to ask the Defence Forces to actually look into its own heart, as it were, and see if it has left people out, forgotten people or neglected the actions of people. If it has, as much a part of dedicating the title "Óglaigh na hÉireann" to the Defence Forces, we should also look at the actions of whose who served. I hope the Defence Forces will do that. I am very grateful to the Minister for throwing his weight behind this and that he will bring in the Office of the Attorney General. I am grateful to the Department officials who have taken the time to go through this and to engage with other Departments to see what has to be done and bring forward the amendments. I thank the officials for that. I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for what he is doing here today.