Twenty-seven serving Defence Forces personnel have a conviction from the civilian courts, according to figures seen by The Irish Times.
The figures, released by Minister for Defence Helen McEntee in response to a parliamentary question (PQ) submitted by Labour TD Duncan Smith, cover the period from July 2024 to October 2025.
The figures show that the offences for Defence Forces personnel, who are still serving after having received court convictions, include public order offences (three), assault offences (one) and road traffic offences (23).
Overall, it shows that 45 personnel have been convicted in civilian courts since July 2024, with 27 of them still serving in the Defence Forces.
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Other convictions included sexual offences (three), domestic violence (one), drugs (one), unlawful possession (one) and money laundering (one). The individuals involved in these cases are no longer serving members of the Defence Forces.
There are 23 cases of current Defence Force members appearing before the courts. These involve alleged public order offences (three cases), assault offences (nine cases), sexual offences (three), domestic violence offences (one), road traffic offences (six) and drugs offences (one).
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023, which passed into law in July 2024, means that people subject to military law who commit specified sexual offences are now dealt with by An Garda Síochána and the civilian courts, rather than by courts-martial.
There are seven cases currently before the court-martial for criminal offences, of which five members of the Defence Forces remain in service, while two individuals are now civilians.
In the period the PQ covers, there have been eight convictions in the court-martial and two of these members are still serving members, having committed a “disciplinary or criminal offence”.
Asked for comment on the offences relating to serving Defence Forces members, a spokesperson for the organisation said in a statement that “Óglaigh na hÉireann condemns all forms of inappropriate behaviour and ensures that personnel committing serious offences not compatible with military service are dismissed from the Defence Forces”.
“While the powers of suspension are still processing through the legislative process, the Defence Forces have been permitted to use ‘local leave’ as a means to take personnel off active duty in the case of serious offences or offences of a sexual nature,” the spokesperson said.
When considering members of the Defence Forces before the courts, it was important to “ensure they are afforded their rights of due process, in specific the presumption of innocence”, while “local leave” represented a non-prejudicial method to deal with serious offences or sexual offences before the courts, the spokesperson added.
Defence Forces members serving with a conviction were “primarily related to road traffic offences of a minor nature and the discretion for dismissal ensures that personnel who have committed minor offences which are not incompatible with military service, can continue to serve in Óglaigh na hÉireann”.
Where a member of the Defence Forces is convicted of a more serious offence or sexual offence, “the process to dismiss that individual will begin, in line with Defence Forces regulations”.
A statement from the Department of Defence said the Minister, Helen McEntee, “condemns all forms of inappropriate behaviour”.
“The Minister receives briefings from the Defence Forces Chief of Staff on all live cases in both the civil and military justice systems, and the action taken. The Minister does not comment on individual cases”.
Smith’s PQ was sent in October 2025 but the TD only received a response last week. Regarding the delay, the Minister said she had been “previously advised by the military authorities that it was not possible to collate the required information in the time available. This information has now been obtained.”
