A year-long independent review into gender-based violence, harassment and bullying in the Defence Forces has recommended a full statutory inquiry into the controversy.
The Government has confirmed it will implement all recommendations of the review, including the statutory inquiry, a move welcomed by the Women of Honour group.
This statutory process should also examine "whether there have been serious failures in the complaints system in the Defence Forces".
It said this should include "whether there has been misuse of disciplinary process, access to promotion or to courses, as a form of retaliation or to deter complaints".
It said Government should also consider establishing a "restorative justice or practice process aimed at healing the wrongs" of what has happened.
The review said it should examine issues, including "reprisals and retaliation" for complaints over assaults, in addition to the assaults themselves.
Separately, the independent review has also recommended the establishment of a separate non-statutory process to examine "whether there have been issues raised in the investigation of complaints concerning health and safety issues in the Air Corps in relation to the maintenance and use of hazardous chemicals and the investigations of air accidents".
The independent review said this latter examination should also include a study of all recent deaths and suicides in the Defence Forces.
Review heard accounts of sexual harassment
Interviewees told investigators of bullying, mobbing and sexual harassment within the Defence Forces, which caused long-term pain and injury.
Eighty-eight percent of female respondents surveyed for the review reported experiencing one or more forms of sexual harassment.
The research, which required hundreds of hours and consultations as well as thousands of pages of transcripts, found that some members of Defence Forces' management "abuse their positions of power and command" in their treatment of subordinates.
This includes threatening behaviour and the suggestion the individual is under total control of the superior.
It found some members of management "crossed the line" by undermining individuals' human dignity through an absence of respect.
The IRG said members of the Defence Forces should be offered access to an independent external complaints service for as long as it takes to put a "trusted internal system" in place.
The group recommended the appointment on a non-statutory basis of an external expert with sufficient powers to investigate medical boarding processes and a study into deaths by suicide of Defence Forces members.
It said the Defence Forces should develop new policies on gender, inclusion and diversity as well as ensuring the provision of adequate maternity clothing for female personnel.
The IRG said the enforcement of traditional gender norms in the Defence Forces "is a situation that cannot continue".
It called on leadership to shift perspective to align with modern attitudes on gender, specifically adopting measures to address a culture of misogyny and "disrespect for all things female".
The group concluded the Defence Forces is unable or unwilling to make the changes that are needed to provide a safe working environment to its members.
In its high-level findings, the review also found that intellectual capabilities are rated as much less important than physical skills.
"Flexibility and alternative thinking is suspect," the review found. "Difference or divergence from a perceived norm is not tolerated," it added.
"All of these have implications for culture, workplace climate and behaviours."
'Nothing less was ever appropriate'
The Women of Honour group has welcomed the Government's decision to establish a full statutory inquiry into gender-based Defence Forces abuse, saying "nothing less was ever appropriate".
In a statement, the Women of Honour group said it felt vindicated.
The group is comprised of former Defence Forces members who were affected by or victims of gender-based violence, harassment and abuse in the service.
"We welcome the Government decision to establish a full Statutory Inquiry," the group said.
"In the light of the findings made by the Independent Review Group, nothing less than a full statutory inquiry was ever appropriate.
"Also, inevitably, the military hierarchy, the Department of Defence itself and the military system in its entirety will now be subject to that investigation in a manner that has been required for some considerable time.
"It is hoped that this commitment by Government to the establishment of a full statutory inquiry will start the process of healing for those persons who have suffered within the Defence Force system the appalling litany of abuse that is part of the findings of fact of the Independent Review Group report.
"We await the necessary discussions to start the process of agreeing terms of reference for an all-encompassing full statutory public inquiry where that process should start within days rather than weeks as justice delayed is justice denied."
The review was launched last year after a 2021 RTÉ investigation into Defence Forces abuse.
A report into the Defence Forces 'makes for stark reading and raises the most profound issues,' Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 28, 2023
He said the report is a 'watershed moment' for the Defence Forces | Read more: https://t.co/fiQzXyGNWo pic.twitter.com/XhF1m7yk9f
Speaking at the launch of the independent review today, Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said "anyone guilty of sexual assault should not be in the Defence Forces".
He said anyone who is sexually assaulted "should go to the gardaí, there's no inhibition on anybody".
The Tánaiste said one of the clear lessons from the independent review is that there was a view within some sections of the Defence Forces that "women were viewed as occupying lower states" than men.
Mr Martin said the view from many people who spoke with the independent review team was that if they had spoken out about abuse, it may have been in their view "career ending".
He said the Defence Forces has, in many respects, a "masculine, macho culture", which has contributed to the situation.
The Tánaiste said that he was "shocked" to learn of the scale of what has happened, and that there was "also a degree of disgust" over the personal stories those affected have told.
He said the independent review team told him it was something "they never experienced before".
Asked for details on the statutory inquiry, the Tánaiste said this would be discussed with affected groups and the Dáil later this week.
He said he intends to establish the statutory inquiry "this year" and that while inquiries can last lengthy periods, "this cannot go on for years".
Asked if Defence Forces personnel are safe currently, Mr Martin said he as minister needs to keep a constant focus on the issue.
He reiterated his support for the Women of Honour group, which comprises of former Defence Forces members who were affected by the incidents examined in the independent review, and said it is essential that cultural reforms are imposed on the sector.
On RTÉ's Six One News, Mr Martin was asked why it has taken so long for women in the Defence Forces to be listened to. He said assurances were given in the past that things had improved to independent monitoring groups.
"But the Women of Honour documentary has opened up and given courage to people to come forward," he said.
He said it is not just former members of the Defence Forces that are coming forward now, current members are now speaking up he said.
Mr Martin said it is a culture that has to be changed, transformed and rooted out.
1/3 Following today's publication of the Independent Review Group's report, the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy commended the bravery of the men and women both serving and retired in coming forward, sharing their difficult lived experiences. pic.twitter.com/JyGuzkj3UN
— Óglaigh na hÉireann (@defenceforces) March 28, 2023
Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, said the organisation accepted the findings of the report and would work to implement its recommendations.
"The findings of this report are stark and we need to change. There is no place for any form of abuse, or failure to act on any form of inappropriate behaviour in the Defence Forces. It is contrary to our ethos and values and will not be tolerated," he said.
"My first priority is the safety and well-being of our serving members and we are fully committed to achieving the necessary cultural change in our organisation.
"I am confident and determined that we can deliver the transformation required to build a better Defence Forces for the future. We must and we will change."
Additional reporting PA
