RTE.ie - Women of Honour meet Tánaiste as review goes to Cabinet - 27 Mar 23


Women of Honour members Honor Murphy, left, and Karina Molloy on their way to meet the Taoiseach last year (Image: Rolling News)

Women of Honour members Honor Murphy, left, and Karina Molloy on their way to meet the Taoiseach last year (Image: Rolling News)

 

The Women of Honour group is to meet Tánaiste Micheál Martin over the outcome of the internal review of their claims of gender-based bullying, harassment and violence in the Defence Forces.

It is understood the Government was given the final report two months ago.

The report is due to go to Cabinet tomorrow.

In a statement over the weekend, the Women of Honour said that they have been advised that they will not see the report as it has not yet gone to Cabinet.

The group said that they "accepted the Tánaiste's invitation, out of courtesy, despite having concerns about his approach".

"Bringing people to meetings, to be talked to, about a report that we are not able to read smacks of little more than a public relations stunt by the Government," it said.

"It is disappointing and continues the mishandling of the issue."

Retired Army Captain and member of the Women of Honour Group Diane Byrne has said that while today’s meeting is "a courtesy" and the group did not believe that the Independent Review Group was fit for purpose, "that in itself does not mean that we have ever left the table".

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Byrne said: "We're very dedicated to improving the Defence Forces and making sure there's no more victims as we were.

"So, we are ready to engage and we're eagerly waiting to see what the report says."

Women of Honour did not take part in the review, she explained, but did correspond in the early stages with the IRG looking for clarification and details.

 

"We detailed why we were concerned, why we felt it wasn't fit for purpose and that it wouldn't achieve what was needed," Ms Byrne said.

"So, we did stay out of the process. But we are very aware of the information that did go through and an awful lot of victims were engaged with the process and provided compelling information that backs up exactly what we have been asking for, which is the need for a full independent statutory process."

Ms Byrne was critical of the process as she said it has been 15 months since the review was set up and nobody has seen the report, she said.

"There have been periodic updates, but none of the other stakeholders are aware of what's even in it," she said.

"Speaking to people on the ground, male and female, nothing has improved. Nothing is in place."

She said she is not sure what to expect from today's meeting with the Tánaiste.

"Perhaps he will share some of the recommendations," she said.

"We have asked to see the report in advance and what we're hoping for from the report itself, based on the information that has been submitted to the IRG and what we have done previously, is that a full independent statute process will be recommended.

"And we will start knuckling down and getting to the real work."

She said that the women will "absolutely" support a statutory inquiry if that is what is recommended.

"The key issues that we have and one of the reasons the IRG was so problematic for us is that because it didn't have the statutory powers, there was no compellability," Ms Byrne added.

"So, the onus was on individuals to attend and provide their side of a story and the evidence that they had without any understanding of the depth of, of how things were dealt with, what went on.

"So, you need to be able to bring people in and answer the accusations or answer the information that is being put to them so that they can truly investigate.

"A statutory process is the only thing that's going to be able to lift the lid on the true extent and the depth of the problems, and you cannot fix what you don't understand.

'Needs to be much, much broader'

"You can't fix something if you don't have the full depth of what's broken," Ms Byrne added.

"With the terms of reference that were put forward in the IRG they were flawed in themselves because they looked specifically at the Defence Forces, it was generally a paper exercise.

"This needs to be much, much broader. The issues extend into the Department of Defence, they extend into the Ombudsman and we're not suggesting for a second that you believe everything we say.

"We're saying put a statutory process in place to truly investigate and understand to the extent of the issues and then we can start putting solutions in place."

She said that from feedback that the Women of Honour are getting, there has been no change since these issues first came to light.

"Aside from the numbers that are still leaving and the recruitment issues that are there, we understand there's various measures being put in place, but from the individuals on the ground, they're not making any difference," Ms Byrne said.

"It's more of the same. We've seen it for years. Women's groups, gender diversity officers, these are all things that we have done for 20 years. There's ample evidence to suggest that these things just don't work.

"And the feedback on the ground is that people are not satisfied with what's happening.

"So, we don't believe it's changed and our key issue for us, there's been an awful lot of issues that have happened, but the main concern that most victims male, female in any situation is that when you raise an issue, it is what you are subjected to after that issue has been raised.

"There there's various measures being put in place. There's unconscious bias training. This isn't about an unconscious bias.

"This is about deliberate actions to cover up and subdue victims and drive them out of the Defence Forces if they choose raise an issue and defend themselves."