Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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64. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to extend the remit of the Defence Forces Ombudsman by removing the restrictions to its remit as per the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 and as highlighted by the Ombudsman in his most recent annual report. [7300/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces was established as an independent statutory office, under the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004. The Ombudsman has full independence and autonomy in the discharge of his statutory functions. The function of the Ombudsman is to act as the ultimate point of appeal for, and administrative investigation into, complaints made by members and former members of the Defence Forces against another member or former member of the Defence Forces, or against a civil servant of the Department of Defence.

Under the provisions of section 5 of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004, certain actions are excluded from investigation by the Ombudsman. The main categories of exclusion are:

(a) where a complainant has already initiated legal action in respect of the matter complained of;

(b) the matter is or has been the subject of a military legal investigation and the complaint materially concerns the substantial matter, as opposed to administrative delay;

(c) the matter relates to or affects security or a military operation;

(d) any matter relating to the terms or conditions of employment in the Defence Forces within the scope of the existing statutory schemes of Conciliation and Arbitration;

(e) any matter concerning the organization, structure and deployment of the Defence Forces;

(f) any matter concerning the remission of punishments or forfeitures awarded under the Defence Act, 1954 or the administration of military prisons;

(g) if the complaint was made outside the specified time; or

(h) if the complaint relates to a matter which occurred before the commencement of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004.

In the 2015 Annual Report of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces published in December 2016, the Ombudsman recommends that elements of the exclusions provided for in section 5 of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 should be reviewed. In particular he questions why, in circumstances where maladministration is a primary consideration for an Ombudsman, should any administrative aspect of most, if not all, of the excluded matters be outside his jurisdiction. He also questions whether those exclusions are necessary and reasonable in circumstances where his powers are limited to the making of recommendations to the Minister.

As the Deputy is aware, the State’s oversight of the role and administration of the Defence Forces is very often dealt with separately to that of the main element of the public services. Where this occurs, the State has set up specific military related parallel structures as evidenced by matters such as bargaining on pay and conditions, military law and its related ancillary structures. The Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 provides for the investigation of military administrative grievances separately to those of the general public service. While parallel structures exist for military personnel, they are dealt with in no less favourable way, having regard to their unique duties, than their civilian counterparts. The exclusions set out in Section 5 of the 2004 Act reflect in large the exclusions set out in the Ombudsman Act 1980. That said, my Department is reviewing the proposals put forward by the Ombudsman as part of an overall review of the Redress of Wrongs system in the Defence Forces.