A full public tribunal into bullying and sexual abuse in the Defence Forces is needed, according to a member of the Women of Honour group.
The group met with Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin yesterday and were given draft terms of reference for a statutory inquiry.
Retired army captain Diane Byrne said the terms of reference are two pages long and there is a lot of work to be done with them.
"This is about what is not in them as much as what is in them," Ms Byrne said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that the extent to which incidents were concealed and victims abused must be fully exposed.
This is about trust and truth, she added.
"One of the key issues that we've always put forward is not necessarily the initial incidents that have happened, but the extent of the concealment and their damage has been done on purpose to victims," the retired army captain added.
The group will walk away from the inquiry if they believe it is a whitewash, she added.
There is no trust for various reasons, she said, and if there is a situation where there is no trust in the process, it will only amplify the hurt and mistrust that is out there.
She added that it is the group's perspective that the Department of Defence and the Secretary General should not be ingrained in the investigation.
She said the onus was now on the Women of Honour group to put together a submission in relation to the terms of reference.
There cannot be accountability and an understanding of how the abuse happened, Ms Byrne said, without naming and shaming people who were involved in the abuse of power.
There is also nothing to stop it happening again, she added.
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Government minister Simon Coveney has insisted the coalition will listen to "all stakeholders" over the exact details of the Defence Forces abuse inquiry.
"The Women of Honour are a really important part of the process under way right now, they've been really courageous.
"The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin has asked for opinions in terms of consultation on a draft terms of reference [for the inquiry].
"I expect all stakeholders will be listened to. We have to get this right. This time we have to have a very fundamental change and the process the Tánaiste is designing now will do that," Minister Coveney said.
His comments were echoed by minister of state for trade promotion and Fianna Fail TD for Mayo Dara Calleary, who told RTÉ News: "It's important we get an inquiry that has everybody's support, but I know the Tánaiste is engaging with groups."
Additional reporting: Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
