I thank the Deputy for the question. I again express my unequivocal condemnation of any form of gender-based violence. Such behaviour has no place in a modern society or in the Defence Forces. The nature and type of such attacks on women are deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable. The depth of feeling expressed at the protests recently is testament to that and I know everyone in this House feels the same. The process for a military representative in court cases is captured in Defence Forces Regulations, DFR, …

Okay.

I want to correct that. I was at pains in the previous reply to outline the regulatory obligations. The officer who attends a court is not there to give a character reference-----

-----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 analysi…

I am very clear on this. The Defence Forces are there to protect society and keep people safe. I believe that, as with An Garda Síochána, standards have to be very high, given the unique role the Defence Forces play in society, over and above other sectors of the public service. That imposes an extra burden, but it is necessary. I think we are all shocked by the level of violence against women in society today. It is quite shocking. I do not understand such levels of violence. I do not understand the aggression and…

On 30 April last, the Government approved the proposal to draft the general scheme of a Bill to govern overseas deployments into the future. Work on drafting those proposals is well under way. This involves, where required, further consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and across Departments and key stakeholders. I will be reverting to the Government shortly with the general scheme of the Bill. Once approved by the Government, the scheme will be referred for pre-legislative scrutiny consideration by …

I would dispute that.

Can I counter that the triple lock is not the cornerstone of Irish foreign policy. As a member of the Fianna Fáil Party, I have knowledge of the historic role that Fianna Fáil Ministers played in establishing an independent foreign policy. In fact, Frank Aiken was the key first signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and we have a very proud record on nuclear non-proliferation. That does not depend on the triple lock at all. As there is no connection, why do people keep saying these kinds of things when t…

There has not been a peacekeeping mission approved by the Security Council of the United Nations since 2014. It is now 2024. The Security Council is paralysed. The idea that we would depend on Russia, China or the US to decide on whether Ireland should send troops to a peacekeeping mission, particularly given the role of a country like Russia, is completely outdated and absurd. That Russia would have a veto on whether Ireland would deploy troops to peace-keeping missions? That is where we are now. The world has cha…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 85 together. The Naval Service is currently adopting a three-ship operational posture, which sees the four P60 class vessels on patrol in operational rotation. The decision to reduce the number of operational ships was made as a result of the previously acknowledged recruitment and retention difficulties in the Naval Service, in particular for specialist positions. The following ships make up that operational posture: the LÉ Samuel Beckett , the LÉ James Joyce, the LÉ William…

We are proceeding with that but as with the purchase of any major defence platform and complex project, it requires the finalisation of required capabilities to enable the specification of requirements to be defined before a tender competition can go to the market, and work is ongoing in this regard. An estimate of the cost of the MRV will only be known, of course, once the tender competition is concluded. It is important to note that while the MRV will operate as a naval asset, its role is very much a whole-of-def…

Again, those specifications are being worked on but the multi-role nature of the vessel is important. Drug interdictions generally are intelligence-led. They have been extremely successful in recent years, notwithstanding all the negative commentary. The bottom line is that the Defence Forces, including the Naval Service, the Air Corps and the Army Ranger Wing, worked exceptionally well together and were instrumental in a successful and highly publicised seizure of the largest cocaine haul in the history of the Sta…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 88 together. I thank the Deputies for raising these questions. As I have publicly stated, since becoming Minister for Defence 18 months ago, I have been absolutely clear on the need for urgent transformation of the culture in the Defence Forces. As I have done earlier this evening, I wish to again reiterate in the strongest possible terms that the Defence Forces is a place where no one convicted of serious physical assaults, sexual offences or domestic or gender-based violenc…

Yes, members of Defence Forces have been discharged as result of criminal convictions in the courts. Apart from the discharge process, there is an existing local leave mechanism that can be used. On 27 June, lest there be any doubt, I instructed that anyone who had been convicted and is awaiting an appeal or is before the courts on the charge of rape or sexual assault be immediately placed on local leave. From the reports we got back, there was a degree of inconsistency, although, having had further discussions wit…

When the report of independent review group of 12 months ago was published, I immediately took the decision and gave an instruction to the military that all sexual assault allegations were no longer to be dealt with by the military courts or under military law and that all sexual assault and rape cases were to be referred to the civil courts. That has been the position for over 12 months. I can get precise dates on that. I asked for clear specific reasons. Any case in the military that relates to sexual assault mus…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 64, 65, 71 and 90 together. I thank the Deputies for their questions. As they are aware, the Defence Forces is a disciplined service with an extensive suite of regulations that govern all aspects of military life. The regulations have been used effectively to discharge personnel in cases where such personnel have received a conviction. Subject to the provisions of DFR A.10, paragraph 58(m), an enlisted person of the Permanent Defence Force may be discharged as a result of conviction…

I immediately asked for a report on the situation after the court sentence was announced in the case of the appalling attack by Crotty on Natasha O'Brien. As the matter is under appeal, I cannot comment any further on it other than to say that I have received a report from the Chief of Staff identifying 68 cases where there have been some convictions, where some are still before the courts and where some are under appeal. I also asked for a separate report on the situation in the Naval Service in respect of one ind…

Some are not.

Discharged.

The ones on sexual assault are on leave locally so they are not in service.