Government and military officials are concerned there may be many more Defence Forces personnel facing serious criminal charges than previously reported.
This is because Defence Forces management rely on individual members to inform them if they are facing charges in civilian courts. If a soldier, sailor or aircrew opts not to inform their superior, there is often no way of knowing about or recording a charge against them.
Last week, Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy informed Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin that there were 68 Defence Forces members who had been recently convicted of crimes or were before the courts charged with criminal offences.
The cases involve a range of offences “including public order, drink-driving, drugs offences, physical assault and sexual offences”, according to a spokesman for the Tánaiste.
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It is understood about two-thirds of the cases related to matters which have yet to be concluded in the civilian courts.
It is possible the actual number of outstanding cases is much higher. As it stands, the Defence Forces has no way of telling if the current figure is accurate. “The only way would be to vet every single member again, which would be a massive task and would take a long time,” said a source.
There are also concerns that military management has no way of knowing if a member has been the subject of a barring or safety order in the family courts. Family court matters are held in camera, meaning their decisions are not made public.
While Defence Forces legal officers can and do attend cases involving personnel in the civilian criminal courts, they cannot attend family court hearings.
As with the criminal courts, the family courts do not automatically alert the Defence Forces if one of its members is subject to a barring or safety order as a result of domestic violence allegations.
The issue also impacts An Garda Síochána. Gardaí are legally required to disclose to their employer the existence of an order against them. But there is no system in place to ensure they do and the family court’s in-camera rule legally prohibits it from informing Garda or Defence Forces management of an order against a member.
Lieut Gen Clancy is due to meet Mr Martin on Monday to brief him on the measures taken in response to serving Defence Forces members who face criminal charges. The lack of an automated reporting system is likely to be one of the subjects under discussion.
The Taoiseach said last week that people with serious convictions should not be serving in the military and that those facing charges should be suspended.
The Tánaiste has announced a range of measures in response to the controversy, including ordering a full review of the number of convicted personnel going back several years. He has also appointed a senior counsel, Peter Ward, to conduct a “comprehensive and independent” examination of the administration of such cases within the Defence Forces.
Mr Martin said he had instructed the Chief of Staff to make sure that personnel accused of sexual assault or rape be placed on “local leave without prejudice to the final outcome of their case”. He said this was “the prudent and right thing to do”.
Local leave is a form of paid leave which is at the discretion of commanding officers. Unlike in An Garda Síochána, there is no provision under Defence Forces regulations to suspend a member facing charges.
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