Defence Forces

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021

Tuesday, 21 September 2021

Ceisteanna (349)

Gary Gannon

Ceist:

349. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Defence the reason he chose not to act, when it was brought to his attention in January 2017 through a protected disclosure that an officer in the Defence Forces (details supplied) was bullied, sexually abused, victimised and discriminated against and informed the person that their protected disclosure was subjective and could not be acted on in view of the fact they were taking a case; the reason he accepted an Ombudsman for the Defence Forces report which ruled that a person (details supplied) was not discriminated against when it was later determined that they were by the Workplace Relations Commission case and in further view of the fact that he is meeting other persons who have taken such cases. [45271/21]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Defence

The purpose of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is to make provision for and in connection with the protection of persons from the taking of action against them in respect of the making of certain disclosures in the public interest and for connected purposes. Section 16 of the Act provides that subject to exceptions, a person to whom a protected disclosure is made, and any person to whom a protected disclosure is referred in the performance of that person’s duties, shall not disclose to another person any information that might identify the person by whom the protected disclosure was made. On this basis, it would be inappropriate for me to comment as to whether any individual submitted a protected disclosure.

The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces discharges his duties in line with the provisions of the Ombudsman (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.