Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to trade legal opinions with anybody else. I see what this section is attempting to do.I am not wholly opposed to what it is attempting to do, which is to secure that the Defence Forces appear to the citizenry of the country to be neutral on matters of politics, not get involved in party politics and the like.

It is strange that, for instance, a reservist who is not on full-time duty - the old FCA-type of person - could appear and be identified as a member of the reserve at a political meeting, and identify himself or herself as a member of the non-permanent defence force. I do not know whether he or she would be allowed to wear a uniform, although I doubt it somehow. However, it is strange that a reservist is being given the right to attend a meeting, address a meeting or speak at a meeting. As I said here on the last occasion, the Leader of the House is undoubtedly political in one sense and she has served the country patriotically as a member of the Reserve Defence Force, and there is no conflict in all of that. I wonder about the phraseology and the precision which should accompany a prohibition of this kind. Looking at the Bright case, it seems a sledgehammer was used to crack a nut and that it was excessive. I wonder whether providing a statutory basis for similar prohibitions in the future is wise in all the circumstances.

I asked the Tánaiste to look at the situation where a member of the Permanent Defence Force is prohibited from canvassing on behalf of any political organisation or society. I do not see that that means a member of the Defence Forces cannot canvass on behalf of a person standing independently for political office. That is not an entirely academic point. We know there are many independents who aspire to membership of this House and local authorities and some who have already achieved that. The question I ask is whether the prohibition on canvassing for a political organisation is meant to prohibit overtly participating in the electoral process on behalf of a political organisation.

The second point is that, for proportionality's sake, there is a prohibition on addressing a meeting of a political organisation or society. I do not know what a political society would be. Many societies are political. We are changing the Charities Act to allow all sorts of human rights activities to be considered political. I am sceptical of that. I do not think it is necessary and think the existing laws in regard to charities are sufficient.