Officer allowed to 'run amok' by superiors, Defence Forces Tribunal hears

The first public hearings of the Defence Forces Tribunal are due to conclude on July 10. File picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

An officer accused of mistreating recruits, including in incidents linked to a soldier’s death, was allowed to “run amok” by his superiors, the Defence Forces Tribunal has heard.

Ian Hutchinson, who joined the army in late 1989, said that in the year before Oliver Mullaney died by suicide in 1991, the officer had been involved in a number of serious incidents involving other recruits.