Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
16. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Defence further to Question No. 16 of 13 May 2021, if the final report of the independent review group established to examine the events at Jadotville in September 1961 has been completed and received by his Department; if the final report will be published; if so, the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34636/21]
View answer51. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Defence the progress to date made by the independent review group set up to investigate and make recommendations on the Battle of Jadotville; when it will be in a position to publish its recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34619/21]
View answerBaineann mo cheist le Jadotville. Tá sé ardaithe arís agus arís eile agam agus ag Teachtaí Dála eile. I am raising the issue of Jadotville once again. My question relates specifically to the final report of the independent group that was set up to examine the events at Jadotville, which will have occurred 60 years ago this September. Does the Minister have the report? Will it be published? If he does not have it, when will he?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 51 together.
In short, I do not have the report yet, but I have been speaking to the Chief of Staff about my wanting to have it soon. I suspect that I will have it soon and I look forward to being able to discuss it in some detail then.
The issue of awarding Military Medals for Gallantry and Distinguished Service Medals to personnel who served in Jadotville in September 1961 has been considered on a number of occasions over the years and a number of actions have been taken to give due recognition to the courage and bravery of all the members of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, who were stationed in Jadotville in 1961. Notwithstanding the actions that have been undertaken to date, I have asked the Chief of Staff to consider whether it is possible, as an exceptional measure, to have a retrospective examination of the events at Jadotville in the context of the awarding of medals and the possible implications for the integrity of the award of medals system. In response, the Chief of Staff proposed the establishment of an independent group of external experts to consider the entire case and the available evidence, including new evidence, if any.
The independent review group was established by the Chief of Staff in December. In line with its terms of reference, it will examine, report and make recommendations in respect of the Battle of Jadotville from 13 to 17 September 1961 and will report its findings to the Chief of Staff as the convening authority.
The independent review group has been actively engaged in the consultation and research process and was originally due to conclude by 31 March. However, given the sheer volume of meetings and the comprehensive nature of the research process, an interim report was submitted and an extension to the timeframe for reporting to the Chief of Staff was requested.
I agreed to an extension and I am expecting the final report, along with recommendations from the Chief of Staff, shortly.
I have outlined to this House and the Seanad it is important the awarding of military medals such as those for gallantry and a distinguished service medal is a military process and not a political one. It is also important we do not draw conclusions as to the outcome of the independent review process, which is now at an advanced stage, and is close to completion. At this juncture, it would be premature to state if the interim report or the final report, once submitted, will be published or released. I will await the outcome of the work of the independent review group and the recommendation of the Chief of Staff, in due course.
When the final report has been received and any findings have been given full consideration, a decision on the release of the interim and final reports will be made, taking into account any legal or other considerations arising. However, my intention - if I can at all - is to release the report in order that we can have full statements on it.
I thank the Minister for his work. I appreciate he has set up the review and I appreciate it is independent. However, I am a little concerned. The report was due at the end of March and then it was the middle of June. Did the Minister get a request for a further extension? We have passed the middle of June.
I am a little worried by the wording with regard to the integrity of the medal. The awarding of medals has to have integrity, but there is something much more fundamental in question here with regard to integrity and that is how a group of young men who were so courageous were treated as Jadotville Jacks. I hate the expression, but that is what they were subjected to when they came back. There is much more at stake when we talk about integrity.
When will the report be released? Soon or shortly is not good enough. The Minister must have been asked specifically for an extension and it must have been indicated when the report will be complete. Had the Minister received a draft report?
"No" is the straight answer. However, I have asked that I receive the report shortly. I hope I will receive it within days. One of the things I am determined to do is to make sure we have the opportunity to have statements on this report and its recommendations before we break up for the summer, which means we need to get on with it. I have responded positively to requests for more time - which I think was the right thing to do - because my understanding is this is quite a significant report in terms of the number of pages and amount of detail in it. In fact, I know it is.
I have not received or seen it, but I have indicated to the Chief of Staff that I want this report within days and he has indicated he will try to ensure that is done. I do not want to rush this at the last minute. I want it to be concluded and completed properly and I have considerable confidence the skill set of the people on the panel who have done this work represents a broad perspective, in trying to address some of the issues Deputy Connolly has raised in terms of correcting history, as well as addressing the medals process within the Defence Forces.
I am sharing time with Deputy Brady.
My apologies. Whichever way they want to go.
I thought the Cathaoirleach had forgotten about me. Similar to Deputy Connolly, I have been following this up and had tabled the previous question as well. It is deeply frustrating, given the different times which have been given - 31 March and then mid-June. I understand a short extension has been given, but it is about rectifying the wrongs done by the heroes. I do not use that term lightly, but these men were heroes and it is about rectifying the wrongs, injustice and wrong history which has been written, for far too long, about them.
Has the Chief of Staff, Mark Mellett, received the final copy? Has he got the final recommendations - I know the Minister is waiting on recommendations coming from him - or is he waiting for the review body to conclude its work? Do we have a final report which the Minister is waiting to be handed over?
There is significant hope the right thing will be done and the 60th anniversary in September will be used as a date and occasion to, I hope, award these medals. Can the Minister outline any plans which may be in place?
We should not presuppose the outcome of the report. This report was not completed weeks ago and is sitting on someone's desk. I spoke to the Chief of Staff about this a few days ago. The report is in the final stages of being completed. Of course, it then needs to be printed up and so on and the Chief of Staff needs some time to be able to consider it. However, I am looking to have the report and the response of the Chief of Staff to that report as soon as possible, as I said, within days. I hope that can be facilitated.
From what I understand, the people who have been involved in this process and report have put an enormous amount of time and work into it. When they took on the job, perhaps nobody realised the number of submissions they would receive and the workload involved in that. Let us allow this process to conclude appropriately and not rush it, but at the same time, I would like to have the report and an opportunity to consider it, before we break up for the summer.
I welcome the Minister's precise answer and the fact he has said he would like to have it discussed. I hope he will ensure it will be discussed before the term closes. That just leaves us two weeks. I also acknowledge there was a tremendous amount of work involved, but there was also a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes, from the families of those who were there, the son of the officer in charge and the community school in Portmarnock and Malahide and in Moneenageisha community school in County Galway.
I said on the last occasion I spoke, on 13 May, that one of the few stories which has given me hope and the will to push on in the Dáil is what I have seen from the way the men acted in Jadotville, the schools following that and the push on the ground. It is the right decision to have it fully discussed in the Dáil. It should be published to restore integrity. Whatever about integrity in the awarding of medals, which is also important, there is a much more basic integrity involved.
I agree with that. We did have a full debate on this issue in the Seanad and I did give a commitment once the report was concluded, we would have statements in the Seanad on that and I would like to follow through on that commitment. Let us see if we can schedule a debate here also.
In many ways, Jadotville is a reminder of the service overseas of Irish Defence Forces personnel over many years. Believe me, the more you learn about and talk to people who are involved in peacekeeping, the more you realise there are many heroes in the Irish Defence Forces, who have been involved in managing extraordinary risk abroad. I met John O'Mahony and the Barrett family, who had to endure extraordinary loss in 1980, in the last few days.
Serving overseas as peacekeepers sometimes involves extraordinary sacrifice and I hope the recognition due to families and the men who were involved in Jadotville will be recognised in the report we will get within the next few days.
I appreciate the Minister does not want the issuing or awarding of medals to be a political thing but, unfortunately, it was politics which interfered in this over the past 60 years and has delayed - and I hope only delayed - the awarding of medals and rectifying of history. I appreciate we have a narrow window of two weeks.
I heard the Minister say that he hoped to have it before the House. Hopefully, time will be provided in both Houses of the Oireachtas to facilitate that debate. It would be helpful, although I know the Minister cannot commit to it here, if the full report could be issued in advance of that. I hope that will be the case and it can be facilitated. We have two weeks, and it would be good to have it. The most important date, however, is September. I hope everyone is working towards that and that the right thing will be done.
I certainly hope the right thing will be done, as the Deputy said. I have put some faith in the Chief of Staff to undertake an appropriate review of these issues and, hopefully, we will find out the result of that process in the next few days and certainly in the next couple of weeks. The Deputy is correct that September is a significant anniversary. It coincides with our presidency of the UN Security Council in New York. During the month of our presidency, one of the events we will focus on is peacekeeping and peacekeeping mandates, so there is obvious synergy there in terms of the role of Irish Defence Forces personnel through the example of Jadotville in the context of the 60th anniversary. We will try to plan an event that is appropriate for the recognition of those events and the 60th anniversary in September.
