Fianna Fáil Senator and former Defence Forces member Lisa Chambers has said the the organisation has been “plagued” with allegations of sexual assaults which are “eroding” its reputation.
Ms Chambers, who spent 13 years in the organisation, said there is a “cultural issue” that needs to be rooted out as it is eroding and damaging the Defence Forces.
It comes as another alleged allegation of a sexual assault at McKee Army Barracks has rocked the force.
The military police are investigating an alleged sexual assault of an on-duty female soldier by an off-duy male officer which allegedly occurred following a booze-filled outdoor party during the height of the pandemic in June 2020.
It comes after members of the Women of Honour group continue to call for a Commission of Inquiry into into allegations of sexual abuse and bullying in the Defence Forces.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Senator Lisa Chambers said: “In terms of the allegations of sexual assault, unfortunately the Defence Forces have been plagued with this in recent times and some of these date back a number of years and others are more recent.
“There clearly is a cultural issue within the organisation that needs to be rooted out and gotten rid of in order to make the Defence Forces, to repair the damage that has been done.
“My own experience having spent 13 years in the Reserve Defence Forces, I can tell you that the organisation does take these allegations seriously from what I see.
“They know how damaging it is, they know they must deal with it and that they have a legal and moral obligation to investigate these complaints, to listen to the victim and to investigate these complaints properly.
“That’s not to say they've handled things well to date, in many cases they haven’t.
“I think there are massive issues with how they deal with these types of complaints and how they attempt to resolve them.
“It hasn’t been good to date.”
Ms Chambers said she believes the “systematic dismantling” of the Defence Forces over the years has contributed to issues “not being dealt with properly or speedily enough.”
She added: “Pay is a massive issue but also conditions, how members of the organisation are treated have led to basically a skeletal Defence Forces.”
She said there is an “imbalance” in terms of the number of women in the organisation and said she is aware the Defence Forces have tried hard over the years to increase female participation.
However, she said such allegations of sexual assault will make that task “even more difficult as many young women will look to the Defence Forces and maybe not see a career for themselves in the organisation as it stands today.”
Ms Chamber said more needs to be done in addition to annual educational programmes on the issue of sexual assault, harrassmnt and bullying.
She said the voices of Defence Forces representative bodies need to be involved in discussions on tackling the matters and setting out a strategic plan for the organisation.
She said Minister Simon Coveney will have to work with the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces and with members on “how they’re going to address recruitment and retention, how they’re going to address a culture within the force that is clearly not making the organisation fit for purpose for female members, and how they’re going to address the shortage of people members coming forward to join the organisation.”
She added: “I know that he’s [Minister Coveney] is working on the issue and he’s engaging with the Women of Honour, the Department and the Chief of Staff on this.
“It remains to be seen what resolution is going to be put on the table to solve this.”
A spokeswoman said Minister Simon Coveney has announced the establishment of an Independent Review Group into allegations.
She said: Óglaigh na hÉireann will give its unequivocal support and co-operation to this review.”
