Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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209. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence to provide a list of regulatory, appeal or other bodies, either funded by or under the remit of his Department, which are quasi-judicial in nature. [13570/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that there are no regulatory, appeal or other bodies funded by or under the remit of my Department that are quasi-judicial in nature. There are three bodies under the aegis of my Department; the Army Pensions Board, the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces and the External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces (EOB), which was placed on a Statutory basis on 1 December 2024.

The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body, established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. The Army Pensions Board adjudicates and reports on applications under the Army Pensions Acts for disability pensions by ex members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF). The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners, one of whom must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

The Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces (ODF) was established under the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 and became operational in December 2005. The primary role of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces is to provide an independent appeals process for serving and former members of the Defence Forces who have processed a complaint through the internal Redress of Wrongs process but remain dissatisfied with the outcome, or the manner in which their complaint was handled. The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces has full independence and autonomy in the discharge of his statutory functions. On completion of an investigation, the Ombudsman issues his report which will include his conclusions and, if appropriate, recommendations to the Minister for Defence.

Following publication of the report of the Independent Review Group (IRG) an External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces (EOB), was established, initially on a non-statutory basis. The Body’s Terms of Reference were published in July 2023. The role of the Body is to oversee the implementation of the relevant recommendations of the Report of the Independent Review Group (IRG), to increase transparency and accountability in the Defence Forces, and to bring about necessary changes to the workplace culture and behaviour in the Defence Forces.

The Defence (Amendment) Act 2024, provided for the establishment of a statutory Body to be known as Comhlacht Formhaoirsithe Seachtrach Óglaigh na hÉireann (the External Oversight Body). In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Minister for Defence signed the commencement and establishment day orders bringing the statutory Body into operation on 1st December 2024. The Defence (Amendment) Act 2024, sets out the functions of the Body.