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Defence Minister, Willie O'Dea says troops can have confidence in anti-bullying systems
Following comments by PDFORRA that some individuals in the Defence Forces still appeared reluctant to report incidents of bullying, the Minister for Defence, Willie O’Dea, T.D. said that he and the senior Officers of the Defence Forces were determined to ensure that no one in the Defence Forces would or should feel inhibited from reporting such incidents.

“Bullying & harassment have no place in the Defence Forces of today" said Minister O'Dea.   Young men and women joining our Defence Forces face a robust and vigorous training regime, but it must at all times be a regime based on respect for them as individuals.”

“A great deal has been done over the past five years to root out each and every incidence of bullying or harassment. I do not believe the problem is widespread, but even a single incident is one too many.”

"Over the past few years a number of major initiatives have already been put in place, including:
· A major educational awareness programme including leadership training by external experts with emphasis on “training the trainers"
· Over 177 of the 200 Designated Contact Persons are in place to facilitate the operation of the formal and informal procedures for anyone making a complaint. The remainder will be in place by the end of this year.
· An independent external confidential “FreePhone” Helpline and Counselling Service was set in March 2003.
· A new Administrative Instruction on Interpersonal Relationships was introduced in March 2003. The Instruction and a users guide were distributed to every member of the Defence Forces.
· Defence Forces Regulations, instructions, and procedures have been reviewed by an Equality Steering Group under a Labour Court chairperson.
· An independent pilot project of Exit Interviews seeking the experiences and views of outgoing members of the Permanent Defence Force was conducted." 

“In the next few weeks, I will be announcing the appointment of the Defence Forces Ombudsman and this new Office will be a further significant step in the process.  The Defence Forces Ombudsman will provide an independent complaints and appeal mechanism for all Defence Force personnel.”

Minister O’Dea concluded: “I am satisfied that we have the structures and systems in place to deal with any isolated cases of bullying. It is not sufficient that these are just put in place, it is vitally important that they are seen to work. The proper investigation of bullying of recruits at McKee and the disciplining of those responsible shows that no one is above the law in the military. It demonstrates that any member of the Defence Forces who has a complaint or allegation to make can have confidence in the integrity and thoroughness of the systems we have in place.”


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