Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 570: To ask the Minister for Defence if, in view of the fact that the High Court order made on 27 July 2005 quashed the report of the Judge Advocate General from the inquiry into the documentation held by the Department of the Defence and by the Defence Forces into the retirement of a person (details supplied) in 1969 and in further view of the fact that Mr. Justice Quirke of the High Court in his judgment noted that in the absence of an explanation concerning documentation the injustice to this person remains apparent, he will remove from the website and published documentation of his Department's statements and press release documentation announcing and lauding the findings of the Judge Advocate General's report. [9343/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The press statement and an accompanying explanatory note on the historical background to the case to which the Deputy refers was issued from the Department of Defence on 2 October 2002. It referred to the publication by the Minister of the report arising from an examination and review of the files and records held by the Department of Defence and by the Defence Forces in relation to the circumstances that led to the retirement in 1969 by the President of the individual concerned from the Permanent Defence Force. The report was prepared by the civilian Judge Advocate General.

The press statement gave a brief synopsis of the key contents of the report of the Judge Advocate General. The explanatory background note, as stated, gave a brief historical background. There were no further subsequent press releases. As the Deputy points out, the report was subsequently quashed by the High Court in July 2005 arising from judicial review proceedings taken by the individual concerned.

An electronic copy of that press statement and the explanatory note are to be found in the press release archive — 2002 — on the Department of Defence Internet website. As is standard practice, this electronic archive is in effect an historical archival repository, in e-format, of press releases issued by the Department's press office over the years, which have been compiled and assembled in a chronological basis by year of issue, for the convenience of those who may wish to access this historical body of material. In addition, much of the factual information in the background note is also on record in the Oireachtas in the form of replies to Dáil questions on the case. The contents of the website are the subject of regular periodic review, particularly as material becomes progressively outdated and no longer holds any contemporary interest.

It is not, therefore, considered appropriate to remove this electronic record from the website at this time. It remains an historical fact that the report itself was published and that the press release and explanatory note to the background of the case were issued at the time of that publication.

It should be emphasised that the High Court judgment in the matter of the report of the Judge Advocate General specifically and only related to the actual procedures utilized in the course of the review. The High Court pointed out that the quashing of the Judge Advocate General's report had no implications whatever for the status of the original 1969 decision to retire the individual concerned from the Permanent Defence Force.