Members of the Women of Honour group say they are "more or less resigned" to the fact that a judge-led review into allegations of sexual abuse and bullying in the Defence Forces will go ahead.
Speaking after a meeting with the Taoiseach at Government Buildings this morning, retired army sergeant Karina Molloy said that the group at least felt listened to.
However, she expressed disappointment that the Government is committed to pursuing the judge-led review.
Ms Molloy said that Micheál Martin indicated that a statutory inquiry could potentially follow on from the initial review.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach described the meeting as "useful", adding that Mr Martin understood their concerns but also explained that a statutory inquiry could take a considerable amount of time.
Mr Martin is also said to have reiterated that an interim report from the judge-led review is expected within six months, and there was scope for a statutory inquiry in the future.
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Following a meeting with Minister for Defence Simon Coveney last week, the Women of Honour group said they did not take any solace from the possibility of a Commission of Inquiry in the future as they believe it should be addressed now.
The group has consistently expressed concern with the draft terms of a review into allegations of sexism, bullying, sexual assault and rape within the Defence Forces.
They had argued that with the proposed review there would be no investigative process, no statutory basis and no true independence with the setting of the terms of reference and appointment of the review panel decided by the minister's department.
Ms Molloy described today's meeting as "unfortunately, quite disappointing".
Speaking to RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne programme, she said that the Taoiseach "listened to all of that we wanted to say".
"It was only at the end that the interview finished the way it did by saying 'well look ladies we are going ahead with the review'," she said.
She added: "This review is not fit for purpose. It is just not going to get to the root of the problem."
She said that the Government's position poses the question of how severe must such abuse be to warrant a statutory inquiry.
"It goes to severe sexual assault and, unfortunately, rape. With all of those incidents that happened we want to know how much more severe do the incidents have to be to get a public statutory inquiry?
"Is rape not high enough to get a public statutory inquiry?"
