Defence Forces’ watchdog reports big rise in cases probed

THE Ombudsman for the Defence Forces (ODF) has reported a significant increase in the number of cases investigated by her office during 2008, with complaints up by almost 40%.

The ODF Paulyn Marrinan Quinn said a total of 106 new cases were accepted for investigation last year – an increase of 39%.

The ODF’s third annual report published yesterday reveals that almost half of all complaints relate to selection and nomination procedures for promotion and career courses, while 30% relate to alleged inappropriate behaviour or bullying. No complaints of sexual harassment were made to the ODF last year.

Ms Marrinan Quinn said promotion remained “a difficult and contentious” area, while the 32 new cases of bullying referred to the ODF last year consisted largely of multiple complaints from one individual.

However, she said the breakdown of complaints in terms of gender, rank and length of service in 2008 were broadly similar to previous years.

A total of 34 cases were finalised by the ODF last year, of which almost 60% were upheld in favour of the complainant.

Ms Marrinan Quinn said it was also notable that 261 complaints were made to the Defence Forces’ own complaints procedures last year – a 55% increase on 2007 figures. The ODF is obliged to be informed of all complaints initially submitted to the Defence Forces for investigation.

However, the Ombudsman claimed the growing number of such complaints passed onto the ODF illustrated there was growing trust by members of the Defence Forces in her office to fairly and independently assess cases. She described such a trend as “encouraging”.

Ms Marrinan Quinn welcomed the fact that some of her rulings had led the Defence Forces to revise some of its procedures in human resource and administrative practices.

She claimed her office acted like “a sleeping policeman”. “By its very presence, [the ODF] is acting as an agent of change and guardian of fairness,” she added.

Although Defence Minister Willie O’Dea has been supportive of her efforts to relocate the ODF’s office and recruit new staff, Ms Marrinan Quinn admitted yesterday that no additional resources were imminent. However, she claimed that the impact of the ODF was far-reaching, despite the low staffing level.

Ms Marrinan Quinn acknowledged she was still concerned that it took on average seven months after cases were referred to the ODF to complete a final report.

It also takes the Defence Minister three months on average to reply to her findings and recommendations.

However, the Ombudsman noted that the average waiting times were showing some improvements in recent months.

A spokesperson for the Defence Forces acknowledged the increase in cases being referred to the ODF but stressed that the level of complaints for bullying and harassment was relatively low given there were 10,500 serving personnel.