Donal de Róiste or Donal Roche was a lieutenant in the Irish Army until 1969 when he was forcibly retired. He entered the Army in 1963 dedicated to a career in the Army, his family proud that he was following such a career. I am assured by him that he had no political affiliations and that is still the position. I am also assured by him that he was at no stage a supporter of militant republicanism nor did he involve himself with any subversive organisation. He was in 1969 a lieutenant based in Athlone looking forward to a long career in the Army.
From what is publicly known to date it seems as a young man Donal Roche made one mistake in the eyes of the intelligence section of the Army. He enjoyed traditional Irish music and visited traditional music pubs. He believes that this resulted in his being interrogated for several days by the intelligence wing of the Army concerning his opinions and the type of people he met at music sessions. He was never tried, charged or accused of any crime nor was he ever court martialled. To his total shock and surprise he was simply told one day that he was being forcibly retired from the Army under Rule 47.2 of the Defence Forces Regulations, 1954. He was never told why he was so retired nor was he given any opportunity to clear his name. His treatment in the Ireland of 1969 could provide a storyline for a Franz Kafka novel.
As everyone in this House knows, Donal Roche is the brother of Adi Roche who ran as a candidate in the presidential election. Rumours about Donal Roche's background emerged during the course of the presidential election without the full story ever being known. Donal Roche suffered greatly as a result of what happened to him in 1969. The passage of time has not diminished that suffering. The stories that emerged during the course of the presidential election rekindled the hurt and stress experienced by him. He says that to this day he does not know why he was dismissed from the Army. He wants to know what allegations were made against him and to be given an opportunity to refute them. He wants the record set straight and to be given an honourable discharge.
I have in my possession a letter from him dated 22 May 1998 in which he states "I am granting you full permission to access and make public all the files on Ex-Lieutenant Donal de Róiste No. 08159 (1963-1969) and help clear my name". I am asking the Minister for Defence to grant to me and to Donal Roche access to all information and files detailing each and every allegation made against him and the reasons the Government in 1969 recommended to the then President, Eamon de Valera, that he be dismissed from the Army. I am asking that a person independent of Government and the Defence Forces be appointed to conduct an inquiry into this matter and that Donal Roche be given a full opportunity to refute all allegations made against him and vindicate his good name.
Utimately an independent report should be published detailing the full background to what occurred, the manner in which Donal Roche was treated when interrogated by the Army and clarifying whether existing records prove misbehaviour by him which justified his dismissal and whether those records stand up to critical examination and to any response that can be furnished by Donal Roche or any other person prepared to give information about what occurred.
From what I have been told, the treatment of Donal Roche by the State in 1969 was a flagrant injustice. I am calling on the Minister for Defence to provide for Donal Roche a just mechanism which allows this issue once and for all to be properly addressed in a fair manner consistent with constitutional justice.
