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MICHEÁL MARTIN IS to receive the report from the Independent Review Group into allegations of bullying and harassment in the defence forces by the end of the day.
Speaking in the Dáil today, the Minister of Defence said the judge chairing the review group has asked to present the report to him later this afternoon.
The Women of Honour group said earlier this week that they have received no updates throughout the process and continue to await the report.
It is understood the report, which is expected to be quite damaging, will not be published until the Attorney General’s office has reviewed it.
The Women of Honour group are a number of female Defence Forces members who acted as whistleblowers in regard to their own treatment of bullying and sexual harassment in their military lives.
Their claims were detailed in a high-profile radio documentary in late 2021.
Despite criticisms that it is over a year since the review group commenced its work, Martin said the delay has not been on his side.
He said he is fully committed to ensuring that every member of the Defence Forces has the right to undertake their duties in a safe environment, underpinned by dignity and equality and by a culture of zero tolerance for any kind of bullying, discrimination, harassment or sexual abuse.
“That is an absolute priority,” he said. He commended the men and women that have spoken out, stating that it he has been “very taken by the incredible courage they displayed in sharing their experiences of unacceptable behaviour in the Defence Forces”.
“From extensive engagements with serving and former members of the Defence Forces, it has also been very clear that there is a very critical and immediate need to address the prevailing work culture, including issues relating to the current systems, policies and procedures for dealing with such behaviour in the Defence Forces,” he told the Dáil today.
He said the judge-led independent review group established last year has been examining systems, policies and procedures for dealing with issues relating to bullying, discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the Defence Forces, as well as the prevailing workplace culture.
“The primary objective of all concerned at the outset, therefore, has been to acknowledge issues in the current workplace and to establish a course of action that would address that,” he said.
Martin added that it is “imperative that the current workplace culture is fully aligned with the principles of dignity, equality, mutual respect, and duty of care for every member of the Defence Forces”.
“I am fully confident that this report will help us do that while also advising on historical matters,” he said.
Following the report being reviewed by the Attorney General, Martin will bring the report to the Government for its consideration and subsequent publication.
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All the lads slapping each other on the back last week while this girl died from a preventable death. God forgive those in charge for the years of mismanagement. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. And the staff at UHL, can’t have been easy for them. May she rest in peace.
I’m sure if she was taken care of in a timely manner she wouldn’t have died. Closing hospitals has consequences.
The downgrading of Ennis, St John’s and Nenagh has serious consequences. The dogs on the street know that. The ED department at UHL can be an absolute nightmare. I genuinely don’t know if the management are at fault or is it purely demand is way too high and the system is beyond repair at this stage. Either way, something drastic needs to be done. Rest in peace Aoife. Thoughts and prayers to your family and to the nurse that was trying to look after you
@Luke Ronan: Unfortunately the dogs on the street will go in and vote FF and FG every election
@Mogh Roith: And the choice is what
@Una Ni Mhathuna: The choice is to give other parties who are not FG/FF a decent go and put all their promises into real action. Sure, if they’re no use, we get the brilliant FF/FG back in, all be grand then. The “what is the choice” lot will no doubt continue to blindly vote the same lot back into power, and there lies a big part of the problem.
I spent 14hours on a chair in the UHL A&E in the SUMMER of 2017 so I can’t even imagine the state of it out there right now. People from Limerick/Clare/Tipp have a genuine fear of going to UHL because of how bad it is. But if you’re truly sick there is nowhere else to go, and that is beyond frightening!!!! It’s not the fault of the nurses and doctors. It lies at the feet of senior management and the government!! I’ve attended numerous protests in Limerick over the years re UHL and no one listens and this is now the result of inaction. No one should spend 13+hrs to be seen in a functioning system. Thinking of Aoife, her family and friends. X
some are working hard, while others are hardly working. I think we all know who.
Ministers were told repeatly prior to this that there was issues and they did nothing about it.
I can only imagine leaving someone with a time critical illness for 16 hours on a trolley without antibiotics can result in loss of life as in this case, my heart goes out to Aoife’s family on the loss of their child , we will be treated to more ‘lessons learned’ when this investigation is done… that’s until the next time.
Timely reminder that your man over the Mid-West HSE has been PROMOTED! I hope the family get some justice.
August 1981, i was 9 and rushed to Limerick regional (now UHL) with meningitis. I remember it vividly and the brilliant work they did to save my life. Something went wing with this poor girl RIP
This Hospital is an absolute disgrace, the government know it and they still do nothing. The Hospitals closed in the arez over the Years and then no investment in health Fighting fires ever year throws billions at hse while the management get big pensions
May Aoife Rest in peace.
They have had years to sort this out. Country run by clowns.
I hope the UL management will reflect on the magnitude of their incompetence with they sit down to pull there Christmas crackers. One girl won’t!
Trying.to give impression that hospita crisis only started over covid its ongoing for many many yrs check it out public hospital beds nurses population 4000000 mil today 5000000mil check out difference please
My poor cousin YES her death absolutely could have been avoided!!! that hospital is an absolute joke! I myself have suffered so much from the lack of care I have received there, I hope my family get justice for aoife
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