Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of complaints of bullying in the Defence Forces that have been lodged in each of the past five years; the number of these complaints that were withdrawn; and the number of these complaints that resulted in disciplinary action. [14017/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In the period since 2007, 25 complaints relating to bullying have been made through the Redress of Wrongs process. Of these:

Ø 7 were withdrawn by the complainants

Ø 7 were ruled on by the Minister for Defence

Ø 4 are currently with the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces

Ø 7 are resting with the complainants.

The Defence Forces have no record of any disciplinary action being taken as a result of any of these complaints.

The Deputy may wish to note that 'A' Admin instruction Chapter 1 - Interpersonal Relationships in the Defence Forces, allows for issues relating to bullying to be dealt with in an informal manner and is guided by the principles of the Defence Forces Dignity Charter and Defence Forces policy. The informal nature of these procedures means that there are no centrally maintained records of the number of instances of these type of complaints in the Defence Forces, which are separate from the Redress of Wrongs process.

Bullying behaviour is not tolerated within the Defence Forces. Every member of the Defence Forces has a role to play in ensuring that the crucial issue of bullying behaviour in the workplace is kept to the forefront in the activities and procedures of the Defence Forces.

The development and maintenance of a positive and supportive work environment is a key objective of the Defence Forces management. The Defence Forces have made great strides in that regard over the past ten years. In 2002 the Independent Monitoring Group was established to oversee the implementation of recommendations arising from the Doyle Report "The Challenge of a Workplace". To date the Independent Monitoring Group has produced two detailed reports and good progress has been made with regard to implementing the recommendations contained therein. The most recent report of the Group which was produced in 2008 confirmed that the culture of the Defence Forces organisation is evolving positively and noted that the recorded number of incidents of unacceptable behaviour is low.

My colleague the Minister for Defence is satisfied that the Defence Forces are on the right path and are to be commended for the major progress achieved to date. The Minister is confident that this process will be further advanced and consolidated in the coming years.