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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 4 Apr 2007

Vol. 186 No. 20

Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2006: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages.

I welcome the Minister for Defence to the House. This is a Seanad Bill which has been amended by the Dáil. In accordance with Standing Order 103, it is deemed to have passed its First, Second and Third Stages in the Seanad and is placed on the Order Paper for Report Stage. On the question "That the Bill be received for final consideration", the Minister may explain the purpose of the amendments made by the Dáil. This is looked upon as the report of the Dáil amendments to the Seanad. For Senators' convenience, I have arranged for the printing and circulation of the amendments. The Minister will deal separately with the subject matter of each related group of amendments. I have also circulated the proposed grouping in the House. Senators may contribute once on each grouping. The only matters that may be discussed are the amendments made by the Dáil.

Question proposed: "That the Bill be received for final consideration."

Amendment No. 1 changes the manner in which alternate members of the committee established for the purpose of selecting an officer to be a director of military prosecutions are appointed. The committee consists of the Chief of Staff, a High Court judge and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Alternative members of the committee would be required if either the judge of the High Court nominated by the President of the High Court or the DPP signalled their unwillingness or inability to act for any period as a member of the committee.

The existing provisions of the Bill in this regard were the subject of an observation by the Irish Human Rights Commission in its report which was received on 1 March 2007. Having considered the observation, I decided to remove any suggestion that there could be a political element to the decision-making process.

Amendment No. 1 has the effect that if the nominated judge of the High Court is unavailable, the President of the High Court may nominate another judge in his or her place. In addition, if the DPP is unavailable, the Minister may, after consulting with the Attorney General, appoint either a practising barrister nominated by the Bar Council or a practising solicitor nominated by the Law Society.

This came from observations by the Irish Human Rights Commission and when I spoke on Second Stage, I welcomed the fact it made observations. The fact the Minister is moving on foot of its recommendations is an important step in that it shows the work of the commission, the chairman of which is a distinguished former member of this House, Mr. Manning. It also shows the Government, particularly the Minister for Defence, is prepared to take advice from the commission. As the Minister knows, the commission has a remit to advise the Government and the Houses on primary legislation. The fact the Minister brought about these two small changes is welcome and I support the amendment.

I thank Senator Brian Hayes for his support and I commend the amendment to the House.

Group 2, which comprises amendment No. 2, concerns the chief military judge.

Amendment No. 2 removes the requirement that the delegation of functions by the chief military judge to another military judge would be subject to the consent of the Judge Advocate General. This amendment was made as a consequence to the amendment made on Committee Stage in this House which gave the President rather than the Judge Advocate General the role of appointing a military judge to be the chief military judge.

The amendments in group 3 relate to the constitution of general courts martial.

Amendments Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, are a response to an observation raised by the Irish Human Rights Commission with regard to a senior member on a court martial board and the possibility that such an appointment could give rise to influence among members of the board. The proposed senior member was designed to replace the former appointment of president of the court martial. However, I am now satisfied we can dispense entirely with all references to "senior member" in the Bill. These amendments give effect to this in respect of section 39 which deals with the constitution of general courts martial. Amendment No. 10, which deals with the dissolution of courts martial, was required as a consequence of amendments Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive.

The amendments in group 4, which are amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, and amendment No. 11, concern the constitution of limited courts martial.

As I stated when speaking about the previous group of amendments, further to the observations of the Irish Human Rights Commission on section 40, I am satisfied we can dispense entirely with all references in the Bill to "senior member" of a court martial. Amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, give effect to this in respect of section 40 which deals with the constitution of limited courts martial. Amendment No. 11, which deals with the dissolution of courts martial, was required as a consequence of amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive.

Group 5 contains amendment No. 12 and deals with amendments to the principal Act.

Amendment No. 12 is a typographical correction. It merely corrects an incorrect reference in Schedule 2 from section 169(3)(d) to the correct reference to section 169(3)(g).

Question put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."

I thank Senators for the constructive debate we had on the Bill and for the helpful amendments tabled in this House. As I stated previously, it is intended that the Bill will reflect and further enhance the non-statutory interim measures implemented to date for the summary investigation of offences and the conduct of courts martial under the Defence Acts. This Bill is a major advancement and represents a sensible and practical model for the operation of the Irish military disciplinary system in the years ahead.

The measures included are proactive with regard to human rights. Crucially, they also provide for the effective maintenance of discipline within the Defence Forces. I intend to commence all provisions of the Act at the earliest possible date. I reiterate my thanks to everybody for their contributions which were most instructive and helpful.

I congratulate the Minister and his officials on the safe passage of this Bill through both Houses. The Minister showed himself to be amenable to amendments in this and the other House. We all want to see a military discipline system within the Defence Forces which is in keeping with the best international human rights standard. The fact that this legislation has gone through both Houses of the Oireachtas is a major advance.

It has been some years since the last Act in this area and I presume this will be re-visited in a number of years. Much will depend on the advances made internationally in human rights and what is best practice in defence forces throughout the world. We must learn from example, especially from those countries with which we serve overseas. The fact the Minister operated on a co-operative basis in both Houses and that we now have a more modern and codified area of dealing with military discipline is a major advance.

I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, and his staff for their work in bringing this Bill before the House. I also thank those on the Opposition side for their contributions to this Bill as it went through this House, and for their co-operation and help. It is important that the legislation was discussed well in this House.

I welcomed the Minister's previous comments in the House indicating that he would consider amendments when the Bill went before the Dáil. He did so and accepted some amendments to improve the Bill before bringing it back here today. That is a welcome progression. Any Bill going through this House may well have to come back on another day and be revisited. As long as it improves the Bill, such as this one dealing with the Defence Forces, we are happy to deal with it in such a way.

I compliment the Minister and the Defence Forces. The appointment yesterday of Dermot Earley as the new Army Chief of Staff for the Defence Forces is also to be complimented, and I wish him well. I express our thanks to the retiring Army Chief of Staff for his outstanding work for the Defence Forces over his term.

I wish the Bill well and hope it works out satisfactorily for the Defence Forces.

Question put and agreed to.
Sitting suspended at 2.45 p.m. and resumed at 4.30 p.m.
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