Women of Honour 'shocked' at appointment of Department of Defence head to oversight body

Members of Women of Honour Karina Molloy, Honor Murphy, Diane Byrne, and Yvonne O Rourke. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The Women of Honour have said they are “shocked” at the appointment of the Secretary General of the Department of Defence as a member of the external oversight body announced by Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday.

They said the appointment is a mistake, described it as "unbelievable" and said they will be seeking a meeting with Mr Martin.

The Tánaiste said the independent external body will have the responsibility to ensure there is cultural transformation within the Defence Forces.

It was one of the recommendations made by the Independent Review Group (IRG) following their examination into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse within the Defence Forces.

Following approval at Cabinet today, Mr Martin has appointed six people to the external body including Jacqui McCrum, Secretary General of the Department of Defence.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Women of Honour group said this appointment is “a mistake”.

“The Tánaiste has said this External Oversight organisation is key to the transformation of culture in the Defence Forces,” the Women of Honour said.

“It is impossible to see how this is possible with the Department of Defence sitting on the body.

“If a Bishop was appointed to any of the inquiries on clerical abuse from the Murphy Report to the Ryan Report to the Ferns Inquiry, all central to changing the culture of child protection in this country, there would have been outrage.

“We are shocked at the appointment of the Secretary General of the Department of Defence as a full member of the External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces.

“Appointing her as a full member is a mistake and we will be seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach regarding the appointment by the Government,” they says.

The Women of Honour also said the oversight body came as a “complete surprise” to the group today “despite the Tánaiste’s claims of a willingness to consult, is in some ways putting the cart before the horse — a Tribunal has yet to establish what went wrong, yet people are already trying to diagnose that separately.” 

“If it was a patient, it is akin to discussing their home care while they are still having heart attacks in intensive care.

A spokesperson for Mr Martin said the Tánaiste is clear that the Department of Defence must and will be included in the Terms of Reference for the Statutory Inquiry.

“The Tánaiste is overseeing all the recommendations and actions, as the Minister for Defence.”

 The External Oversight Group is being set up as per the recommendations of the Independent Review Group report, which included the appointment of an independent chair, and the Secretary General of the Tánaiste’s department, the Department of Defence to oversee cultural change within the Defence Forces, they added.

Speaking at a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Mr Martin confirmed that he did not consult with the Women of Honour on who would be appointed to the external advisory body.

Other members include; Josephine Feehily, former chair of the pensions commission, former General Secretary of ICTU, Patricia King and former CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon.

Aongus Hegarty, who has four decades of global business experience, was also appointed to the body.

Speaking at a Fianna Fáil event in UCD to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on Tuesday, Mr Martin said the oversight group will “hold us all to account” in terms of the implementation of the recommendations made by the IRG.