A SENIOR COUNSEL is to be appointed by the Government to examine the Irish Defence Forces processes for dealing with personnel who have civilian criminal convictions, the Tánaiste has announced. 

At present the Chief of Staff of the military Lt Gen Seán Clancy, unlike the Garda Commissioner, does not have powers to suspend personnel who are under suspicion of offences. He also does not have power for summary dismissal. 

The difficulty for the Government is that to introduce such a measure it would require legislation to pass through the Oireachtas, something that multiple sources have said that is unlikely to happen given the time constraints before the next general election.   

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who is Minister for Defence, has said that a solution to this issue has been found and members of the Irish Defence Forces can be taken off active duty when facing charges or convictions of sexual assault or rape.

He claimed this is part of regulations already and is known as “local leave” in military speak.

Martin, speaking to reporters this afternoon, said that some of the 68 cases identified in the audit of personnel are “very grave”. 

He said there was a lack of a central database to manage the cases and a lack of case management across the organisation.

“In terms of dealing with such cases, I took the step last night of instructing the Secretary General [Jacquie McCrum] and Chief of Staff [Lt General Sean Clancy] to make sure that any person or any case in respect of sexual assault, or rape, that includes those people will be placed on what is termed ‘local leave’, without prejudice to the outcome of those cases. I think that’s the prudent and right thing to do,” he said.

Sources have said that this is an administrative measure available in the Defence Forces – when it is implemented affected personnel will not have to attend their workplace.

Senior Counsel review

Minister for Defence Micheal Martin and Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

In a second move, the Tánaiste said that Senior Counsel Peter Ward will look into the administration of discipline around such cases in the military.

He said Ward will return with a report and that will include recommendations.

The Tánaiste said he was unaware of the issues associated with the need for changes to the law around suspensions and dismissal. He also said he was not aware that there were delays in receiving certificates of conviction from the Courts Service. 

“This was something that was not flagged with me at any stage. I have concerns about that but be that as it may, I’m looking to sort out those issues,” Martin said. 

“But I think more fundamentally, we do need a comprehensive independent review of this to inform us in a proper way for any changes that may be necessary to enhance and improve existing regulations.

“I’m very satisfied that existing mechanisms do exist to deal with very serious offences, such as sexual assault and yet we see them used inconsistently across the Defence Forces,” he added. 

The Tánaiste has also said he received a report from the Naval Service in respect of the case of Petty Officer David O’Gorman – he said that document portrays a lack of urgency in dealing with the matter.  

External Oversight Body

Martin has said that he met with a body tasked with dealing with the external oversight of the Defence Forces today. He added that they had told him that they are “not satisfied” with the level of change occurring in respect of culture inside the organisation.  

“There has been resistance within elements, I have to say regrettably, in the Defence Forces against the need for change to culture.

“The vast, vast majority of our Defence Forces want to get on with it, and are very proud and are very committed to the work and the external oversight body said to me, they’ve met very committed people.

“But the actions of this minority is damaging the overall reputation of our Defence Forces. And it’s in the interest of the vast majority of our Defence Forces, that we’ve decided to take these actions,” he added. 

There has been a dispute between the military representative bodies PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) over the make-up of the External Oversight Body. Their issue is with the presence of the Secretary General of the Department of Defence on the committee. 

The Taoiseach Simon Harris, who is in Brussels, said that he welcomed the appointment of the senior counsel.

“I welcome this important development. The men and women of the Defence Forces serve this country with distinction. Together, we must build an organisation that has a zero tolerance approach to domestic and gender based violence.

“I have been clear that it is not acceptable to me that any person accused of a serious sexual crime would serve in our Defence Forces while a trial is pending.

As Taoiseach I will always speak up and speak out on these matters. Zero tolerance is the responsibility of everyone in society,” he said.   

Military response

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy welcomed the move by the Tánaiste and said offenders convicted of serious offences “have no place in our ranks”.

“We owe it to the bravery of individuals like Natasha O’Brien, to those impacted within our own organisation and to the values we stand for to ensure that no one within the Defence Forces can avoid the consequences of their actions,” he said. 

The statement also confirmed, as revealed by The Journal yesterday, that a meeting of all Unit Commanders throughout the organisation in Baldonnel today to “reaffirm” the legal powers they have to enforce discipline around convictions. 

He was accompanied by the Assistant Chief of Staff Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy and the by the Director of Legal Services in the military.

With additional reporting Jane Matthews in Brussels.