Gerard Craughwell (Independent)

On Tuesday, I made a statement with respect to the Crotty case in Limerick. The point I made was that senior politicians rushed to condemn all the members of the Defence Forces. I also made the point that a young officer, a commissioned officer of this country, went to court because he was obliged to do so, and gave a report on Crotty's military record. Somehow or other, my friend and colleague Senator Rabbitte misconstrued that as me supporting Crotty and his thuggish behaviour. I have no time for those who commit violent acts, whether against women, men or children. It is outrageous that anybody would support such an individual. However, I again say to those who condemned that young officer that it was us who put the rules in place, namely the Defence Forces regulations that the officer is forced to live by. Condemning him was outrageous. That will follow the man in question right through his career. He deserves an apology from this House. He deserves an apology from the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. He deserves an apology because all he did was what he was obliged to do. Crotty deserves what he got, and may he rot in jail for as long as it takes for him to realise the impact of what he did.

Ultimately, a commissioned officer in this country is obliged to do what the Defence Force regulations lay out for him. If he is assigned by his commanding officer as the person to appear in court, then he has to go there. My heart goes out to him and the other decent men and women who serve this country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and do so with pride. Thugs exist in every walk of life, and they all need to be weeded out.