Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 November 2022
38. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Defence his views on reports that the number of personnel going AWOL in the Defence Forces will hit a ten-year high; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57623/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, absence without leave from the Defence Forces is a disciplinary matter provided for in Defence Forces Regulations and lies within the purview of the Chief of Staff.
The Defence Act 1954 (as amended) provides the principle statutory basis for the Court-Martial system, which administers military justice in the Irish Defence Forces. The Court-Martial system provides a mechanism for the enforcement of Military Law in the Defence Forces. Military Law consists of a system of rules and regulations contained in the Defence Act 1954 (as amended) (“the Act”) and Regulations, Instructions and Orders made under the authority of the Act.
The main purpose of Military Law is to regulate the behaviour of military personnel, having regard to the specific requirements and demands of military life, in order to ensure that the required standard of discipline is maintained at all times.
Members of the Permanent Defence Force are subject to Military Law at all times. Chapter II of Part V of the Act, provides for the various offences against Military Law for which persons subject to Military Law may be tried and punished by Courts-Martial.
These sections include many offences which are not offences under the ordinary criminal laws of the state, such as Absence Without Leave (Section 137). In effect this means that persons subject to military law, as well as being subject to the ordinary criminal law of the state, may be tried, convicted and sentenced by court-martial for a wide range of what are known as “military” offences.
Each absence is managed on a case by case basis by the appropriate military authority and requires a thorough investigation. It is not possible to accurately determine the current annual rate of absence until all reported instances of absence are investigated and any resulting disciplinary proceedings are concluded. Such investigation may result in some absences recorded during 2022 being discounted.
Based on the most recent data available, the military authorities have provided the following details of absence from 2013 to the end of September 2022 are as follows:
|
Year |
Individuals absent during period |
|
2022 (January to 30th September) |
151 |
|
2021 |
106 |
|
2020 |
64 |
|
2019 |
82 |
|
2018 |
133 |
|
2017 |
152 |
|
2016 |
145 |
|
2015 |
136 |
|
2014 |
138 |
|
2013 |
134 |
I am advised that the above figures are representative of Defence Forces personnel who, during the reporting period, were initially recorded as absent by their administration office pending subsequent detailed investigation.
