Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of occasions since January 2020 when a superior officer in the Defence Forces provided a statement in support of a defendant to a civilian trial in respect of an allegation of a violent crime; and whether he proposes to introduce measures to address this issue. [28122/24]

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister the number of occasions since January 2020 when a superior officer in the Defence forces provided a statement in support of a defendant to a civilian trial in respect of an allegation of a violent crime and whether he proposes to introduce measures to address this issue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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, namely, DFR A.7, paragraphs 55 to 58, which specify that a military representative is required to be present during the trial in a civil court of an accused member of the Defence Forces. The role of that representative, which is also provided for in the regulations, is to assist the court, if called upon to do so, with any queries the court may have in respect of the service record of the accused member. It should be noted that under paragraph 57 of the regulations, the officer detailed to attend the trial is not required to disclose any information concerning the accused soldier, unless required by the court to do so. If required by the court, and again in line with the regulations, the military liaison officer will furnish any information in his or her possession as to the soldier’s character and service, and full particulars of any previous convictions by a civil court or by a court-martial for an offence under the Defence Act 1954.

The officer detailed to attend the civil trial of a soldier will be furnished by the soldier’s commanding officer with a certified copy of the soldier’s record sheet, A.F 43A, copies of any other documents in possession of the unit relevant to the soldier’s previous service or conduct, and previous trials or convictions of the soldier by a civil court. Immediately after the conclusion of the proceedings, the officer attending the trial will prepare a brief but comprehensive report of the trial and findings. This report, together with documents originally furnished, will be transmitted by such officer to the soldier’s commanding officer directly. I have asked the military-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Tánaiste, you are out of time. We have to stick to the time.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Okay.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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The State came to a standstill with disgust and disbelief last week when a member of the Defence Forces walked free from court following the brutal assault on Natasha O'Brien. Another man had his career protected while another woman was failed by the State. I am glad to see the DPP has appealed the sentence. I do not want to give the Ceann Comhairle a heart attack or anything like that but the ruling was given by the Judiciary. While it is really welcome that the DPP is looking at it again, the fact that a spokesperson for the Defence Forces was in the court is something we have to look at. People were revolted by the fact that a senior officer gave a glowing account of Mr. Crotty's service record. I believe that is something that-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy. We will come back to you.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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-----

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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That is what it came across as.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----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.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I am not a military lawyer or anything like that but after listening to the conversations, I know the officer was not there to give a glowing reference. However, that is what it felt like to the victim. Members of the Defence Forces have been through such a tough time lately with the disclosures from the Women of Honour. There is a bit of a knee-jerk reaction coming from inside and outside the Defence forces. This closing of ranks and circling of the wagons is not very helpful. Because the Defence Forces are there to defend citizens, it seemed like an awful betrayal to citizens when members of the Defence Forces acted like this. It is important for those members of the Defence Forces who do serve with dignity that the Tánaiste take the bull by the horns and sort this out.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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 I do not understand how someone can beat a woman unconscious. I am not talking about any particular case, just generally. We have had a number of cases of horrific violence and rape perpetrated against women. We need zero tolerance of such violence against women. Notwithstanding all the programmes in our education system, from relationships and sexuality education, RSE, to social personal and health education, SPHE, it seems the level, aggression and nature of the violence are getting progressively worse. At a societal level, we need to do a deep-dive analysis of this to make inroads on it.