Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
377. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence the reason he accepted an Ombudsman of the Defence Forces report which ruled that a person (details supplied) was discriminated against given it was later determined by the Workplace Relations Commission that they were discriminated against; and if he has confidence in the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces given the contradiction in the conclusions. [43574/21]
View answerI wish to assure the Deputy, in the first instance, that I have full confidence in the Ombudsman, who discharges his duties in line with the provisions of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, Act, 2004.
Under the provisions of this Act, the Ombudsman has full independence and autonomy in the discharge of his statutory functions The findings of the Ombudsman in relation to complaints submitted to his Office under the provisions of the Act, are therefore based on his independent assessment of the information he is presented with during the course of his investigation. In this particular case, the Minister is satisfied that the ODF had appropriately exercised his discretion, that a full, fair and objective investigation had been conducted by the ODF in relation to the facts of the complaints in this case.
The Deputy will be aware that WRC rulings are in the public domain and will be also aware that the Adjudicator in his December 2020 ruling on two complaints brought by an individual, upheld one complaint on the grounds of gender discrimination in relation to promotion, owing to the treatment of absences in terms of access to promotion contrary to S.8 (1) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. However, the Adjudicator found that the Minister did not discriminate against the Complainant, and did not victimise her, within the meaning of S.2, S. 6(1) and S. 74 (2) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 as alleged in her second complaint.
The directions of the ruling are currently being implemented by the military authorities with a view to ensuring that all of the training programmes and materials for Defence Forces personnel are fully aligned, and compatible with, the provisions of the relevant equality legislation and that follow-on actions will be progressed. A Defence Forces Working Group is established comprising membership from the Defence Forces HR, Legal and Training & Education HQ Branches as well as representatives from the Defence Forces Formations. The Working Group has had 12 plenary meetings to date in addition to meetings of sub-groups. Progress is continuing in line with the timelines set out in the ruling and this will be fully complied with.
The complainant has ongoing active litigation in a number of fora, and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further.
