Safety watchdog dispatching inspectors to examine work practices at Defence Forces

The process will include on-site inspections, desktop evaluations, specialised referral inspections and advanced requests for documentation. File photo: Leon Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is sending in a team of inspectors into the Defence Forces to examine work practices amid allegations of bullying and sexual harassment.

In a letter to the Defence Forces, a senior inspector with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said "a significant regulatory response" is needed to address concerns raised by serving and former members of the military.

The HSA has written to Assistant Chief of Staff at the Defence Forces, Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy, after an Independent Review Group (IRG) found the force is not a safe working environment.

“The authority has established a team of inspectors to undertake an inspection campaign of the Defence Forces, taking into account, but not limited to, the matters raised in the IRG Defence Forces report,” the HSA letter reads.

The process will include on-site inspections, desktop evaluations, specialised referral inspections and advanced requests for documentation.

The HSA letter adds: “Of particular concern to the authority is the following line contained within the Executive Summary: ‘Notwithstanding the role of the Defence Forces, neither men nor women in the Defence Forces are working in a safe working environment’."

The letter does not explicitly refer to allegations of sexual harassment or bullying and the HSA has sought to meet with senior military figures to “expedite” the inspection and review process “in a fair, transparent and consistent manner".

The findings contained in the IRG report came on foot of allegations by the Women of Honour campaign of gender-based violence, harassment and bullying within the ranks.

A spokesperson for the Department of Defence said: “The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces welcome the proposed review to be undertaken by the Health and Safety Authority, the statutory body responsible for investigating matters relating to occupational health and safety.

“The Defence Forces have a Service Level Protocol in place with the HSA.” 

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In July, Cabinet gave the green light to establish a Tribunal of Inquiry to investigate whether there have been serious systemic failures in the complaints system in the Defence Forces.

However, the Women of Honour group is not satisfied with the terms of reference of the tribunal and criticised recent comments by Tánaiste Micheál Martin.  The group has requested the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act to be explicitly included in the terms of reference. 

In response to that request, Mr Martin said a reference to this Act would be very broad and could conceivably include "trips, slips and falls" that may have occurred in the workplace.  The group accused him of seeking to equate "rapes, sexual assaults and other outrages with low-level slips, trips and falls".

Mr Martin said that assertion was a “distortion" of his comments and that the tribunal chairperson will have the discretion to include any "applicable duty of care for employees".

The Women of Honour have called for a meeting with the Taoiseach and the Attorney General on the matter and have asked for the Department of the Taoiseach to take over the establishment of the tribunal.