Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. The ladies and gentlemen in the Gallery, former members of the Defence Forces, are also very welcome.

I very much welcome the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry. The Government decision to establish it is the result of the tireless and courageous campaign mounted by the Women of Honour group.Along with many others, such as the Defence Forces Justice Alliance and the Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, the Women of Honour are to be congratulated for their determination and perseverance. "Perseverance" is the right word. This decision has been a long time coming. While it is known to some people here, I should declare that a member of my family is a member of the Defence Forces. I want to put that on record.

It has been almost two and a half years since Katie Hannon's October 2021 RTÉ radio documentary brought the harrowing stories of the Women of Honour to wider public attention. People were outraged by the tales of misogyny and sexual assault and allegations of rape in the Irish Defence Forces, our Óglaigh na hÉireann. As the Women of Honour later put it, that documentary opened the sluice gates of this crisis. In the weeks, months and, sadly, years following Katie Hannon's documentary, many other victims of abuse, both male and female, found the courage and resolve to come forward and tell their stories.

From the outset, back in early 2022, the Women of Honour and others have repeatedly stated that only a full statutory tribunal that can compel people and the production of records could begin the process of fully addressing these claims and allowing our Defence Forces to move forward. Responding to the public outcry following the documentary, the Government decided in January 2022 to establish an independent review group, IRG, "to examine behaviours in the Defence Forces and to make recommendations on the measures required to underpin a workplace based on dignity and respect." One of its terms of reference was "To advise whether further work is required to examine issues of an historical nature and to make any recommendations regarding how this might best be pursued."

The findings of that IRG report in March 2023, almost a year ago, were as shocking as they were stark. The IRG severely criticised the Defence Forces as "resistant to change", having out-of-date HR policies and procedures and being simply not fit for purpose in tackling unacceptable behaviour, bullying, discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment. The IRG recommended as a priority the establishment of a statutory inquiry to investigate whether there had been serious systemic failures in dealing with individual complaints, including complaints of sexual misconduct. In March 2023, 18 months after the radio documentary was first broadcast, the IRG fully agreed that establishing the statutory inquiry the Women of Honour had been requesting from the outset was the right thing to do. Many will blame our adversarial system of justice for these delays but I truly feel we need to seriously question any system that can expend so much time and resources in taking more than two years from the emergence of serious allegations to agreeing a process for their investigation.

It is worth reminding ourselves that, in passing this motion, we are only commencing the process of fact-finding. As my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, highlighted in Dáil Éireann last week, the tribunal will investigate what happened and produce a report setting out the facts. The tribunal will not, in itself, deliver justice. No one will be held to account as a result of the tribunal. Its purpose is to establish the facts. I very much welcome that. This requires us to strike a balance in drawing up the terms of reference to ensure the maximum investigation within a reasonable timeframe. In arriving at the terms of reference before us, the Government has risked disappointing some groups and individuals. While there is not unanimity on the terms set out in this motion, I am reassured that they are sufficiently wide-ranging and robust to enable the tribunal to do its work within a reasonable timeframe. If I seem obsessed with timelines and timeframes, it is because they are crucial. The Defence Forces are facing a grave and sustained crisis in recruitment and retention. We have known about this crisis for years, but, unfortunately, the numbers are still falling. When I entered this House in 2002, there were 10,500 men and women in our Defence Forces. We have seen that number plummet over the past ten years. The 2015 White Paper on Defence - unwisely in my opinion - reduced the establishment strength to 9,500, but we know that it has never reached this number in the intervening years. Accordingly, I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister the fact that the figures, which were published on 31 December 2023, stood at 7,550. Some 750 personnel were discharged in 2023 and 415 personnel were inducted. Those are the facts.

Two years after the Commission on the Defence Forces produced its highly detailed analysis and recommendations in February 2022, we are still losing more people than we are taking in. The commission gave the Government three level of ambition, LOA, options. The Government agreed to adopt the LOA 2 option of enhanced capacity, which meant a Defence Forces strength of 11,500 by the end of 2028. To reach that number, we will require an ambitious recruitment and training timetable. I accept that work in this regard is ongoing and that there are difficulties involved.

We need to show that a career in the Defence Forces is not just fulfilling, it is one that is built on a culture that is supportive and respectful. We know that the vast majority of those who join the Defence Forces have a positive experience. They see and experience the very best of our Defence Forces culture. They gain leadership skills and expert training, not to mention challenging overseas service that equips them well for rewarding careers in the outside world.

It is astonishing that anyone in the Defence Forces establishment, be it civil or military, might imagine that kicking the can of addressing dignity and respect issues further down the road could do anything other than discourage recruitment. We all have a vested interest in seeing this tribunal getting to work and allowing our Defence Forces to move forward.

I thank the Tánaiste for coming before the House today and making a comprehensive contribution. I wish the judge well in her endeavours with the tribunal.