Bernard Allen
Ceist:213 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Defence the procedures existing in the Defence Forces to deal with allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. [26523/01]
Vol. 543 No. 2
213 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Defence the procedures existing in the Defence Forces to deal with allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. [26523/01]
The Defence Forces have had formal policies and procedures on sexual harassment and bullying in place since February 1996 and these are outlined in an administrative instruction on interpersonal relationships. Lectures and briefings in this area have continued over the years as an integral element of the training syllabus on recruit, cadet and career courses, and in addition on those occasions when troops are undergoing training for duty overseas.
Early this year, the Defence Forces commenced a re-examination of procedures to bring them into line with the best state of the art practice in both the wider public service and in the private sector. In April, the section in the administrative instruction, which deals with the procedures concerning allegations of bullying, was revised to reflect this. The report of the Government Task Force on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying, published in March of this year, requires all public and private organisations to reassess their policies. The Defence Forces will actively participate in this review and re-assessment exercise.