Defence Forces

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Ceisteanna (450)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

450. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence the number of times action has been taken against the Defence Forces and brought to the Workplace Relations Commission; the number of cases his Department has won, lost or settled out of court; the number that are ongoing by service that is Army, Naval Service and Air Corps in tabular form; the breakdown of the awards paid and settlements; and the legal costs of defending these actions. [26471/21]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Defence

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was established on 1st October 2015. Since that date twenty-eight (28) complaints have been made against the Defence Forces, with the Minister for Defence listed as the Respondant in all such cases. Complaints made may originate from either Defence Forces personnel or civilians ("Others" in the table below).  The Chief State Solicitor's Office is responsible for the State's legal representation for complaints lodged with the WRC where I am the named Respondent in my capacity as Minister for Defence, and any costs arising from such representation.  

A breakdown of these complaints is as follows:

Total Complaints Lodged	Complaints Won - not upheld	Complaints Lost-upheld	Complaints Settled or Withdrawn	Awards/Settlements*	Ongoing Complaints
28	5	1	13	€162,116.11	9

* Settlements containing confidentiality clauses are not included.

The origin of each of the nine ongoing complaints is as follows:

Army	Air Corps	Naval Service	Other
3	3	1	2