Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2023-06-20
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Bríd Smith (PBP), Dublin South-Central

I might flesh out the question a bit more. On the terms of reference, the Women of Honour group presented the Tánaiste with what it recommended as terms of reference, which should be broader and would make an inquiry more transparent and open. It wants it to be more public. Does meeting the group to deal with its terms of reference, choices, queries and preferences mean that if the Tánaiste meets other organisations that represent serving members or veterans' associations, which I am not picking out particularly but which were on the list the Tánaiste read, there could be a conflict of interests about the terms of reference and how they are structured? Is the purpose not to delve down into what the Women of Honour exposed, which is a culture of misogyny, discrimination and sometimes violence and secrecy in the Defence Forces? I get what the Tánaiste is saying, namely, that everybody will be involved in the inquiry, but in establishing the terms of reference, was it wrong to include everybody and not just to look at their suggestions?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-06-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-06-20