Vol. 553 No. 3
12 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Defence the progress made to date by the independent monitoring group recommended in the Report of the External Advisory Committee on the Defence Forces dealing with allegations of bullying and sexual harassment in the Defence Forces; when it is expected the implementation plan on the reforms recommended will be put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13821/02]
I invited Dr. Eileen Doyle, who chaired the Government's task force on the prevention of workplace bullying, to chair an external advisory committee to determine the nature and extent of sexual harassment, harassment and bullying in the Defence Forces, to review existing policies and procedures and to make recommendations on strategies and programmes relating to awareness and education in this area. She was joined by two other civilian experts and by senior military personnel.
Dr. Doyle and the external advisory committee group presented their completed report to me in March, 2002.
I have accepted fully the report and its recommendations. The report notes that it will be essential that external civilian expertise be involved throughout the implementation process for the various recommendations. On the evidence of the research findings, there is a need for immediate action on a number of fronts. As an immediate initial step in implementing these recommendations I have therefore established the independent monitoring group recommended in the report. The monitoring group is chaired by Dr. Eileen Doyle, and comprises the Deputy Chief of Staff – Support – an assistant secretary of my Department and the general secretaries of the associations. The group will oversee the drawing up and implementation of a plan to give effect to the fundamental reforms which the report has recommended. In addition, an equality steering group, as recommended by the report, will be established and chaired by a member of the Labour Court. I know that we will have the active support and participation of the representative associations in this exercise.
As an immediate measure, a confidential helpline was made available to members of the Defence Forces from 5 April 2002. An extensive programme of briefings for members of the Defence Forces has been set in train.
The recommendations of the report must now be comprehensively built into the general employee relations and human resources management system across and through all ranks and all services and corps of the Defence Forces. The report emphasises the need for continuous external review, including a further external survey in Spring 2004 which will involve a thorough revisiting of all the aspects covered in the current report. That second review process in 2004 will also be undertaken for official publication. The monitoring group has met on a number of occasions to formulate proposals on how best to proceed with implementation of the recommendations.
The Defence Forces fully recognise that the singular nature of the military environment does not give anyone a licence for bullying or harassment of any kind. There is absolutely nothing in military life which requires that any individual be singled out, victimised or subjected to abuse or bullying. Bullying does not constitute training for any aspect of military life. On the contrary, a team spirit is essential to the maintenance of a military organisation and will be undermined by such practices. Such behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. I am pleased to note the advisory committee is already moving on implementation of the report.
Has the Minister received representations regarding the new helpline and have any new cases of bullying or sexual harassment been identified in the past couple of months? Do we have the required personnel to operate such a helpline? Is the helpline operated by Army personnel or by private consultants?
The helpline is manned by specially trained personnel. Should the need for more qualified personnel arise, we will look at the matter again.
I have not received any further reports or complaints. We regard this matter as extremely serious. There is no place in the Defence Forces for bullying, harassment or discrimination of any kind. The report is comprehensive and contains substantial recommendations, all of which have been agreed. We will monitor the implementation of those recommendations on a strict basis in the next two years. I am looking forward to not hearing complaints of that nature in the future. I have received a full commitment from the Chief of Staff to ensure everybody, particularly those in authority, understands the role they have to play in this regard. It is very important from the point of view of job satisfaction, future recruitment and stability in the Defence Forces that any such incidences be eradicated and committed to the past.
Question No. 13 answered with Question No. 10.
