Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2024-07-02
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

-----and is not there to give a glowing account. The officer had a record in front of him and was cross-examined by the prosecution and the defence. He happened to be in the court in line with the Defence Force regulations. We have to be fair to everyone in this context. However, I am reviewing that and I have asked Mr. Peter Ward SC to undertake a high-level analysis of the application of military law in circumstances where personnel have been convicted of serious offences in the civil courts. Part of this analysis will be around the military liaison officer system and how it works. The perception of it was not good because people assumed the officer was there on behalf of the perpetrator of the crime. He was not; he was there because he was required to be there. It is important to get that clear. I will come back to the Deputy with the details on the numbers asked for in the original question.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2024-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2024-07-02