PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has said that he is left with the “greatest anxiety” that the issues identified in the report into the Defence Forces spread across other institutions and Irish society.
Higgins, who is Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, was speaking in response to the Independent Review Group (IRG) into abuse, bullying and harassment inside the Irish military.
The President welcomed the report and paid tribute to those who came forward to raise their concerns and experiences.
“As Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, it is with a sense of shame but also so much hurt for those serving women and men who had dedicated their lives to serving our country and to working as international peacekeepers and who have been abused while serving as members of the Defence Forces, that I read the Report of the Independent Review Group,” he said.
Higgins said that the abuse victims were often abused by people with a higher rank than them.
“What has been revealed in this report, a report made possible by the coming forward of some of the bravest of the brave to have served our country, was not a simple set of random occurrences.
“It is explicitly stated in the Report that there is a continuing systemic problem of incidents of bullying, harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment within the Defence Forces.
“This must be of the deepest concern to us all, including those in the Defence Forces who are anxious to serve their country to the best of their abilities and so many who are doing so at home and abroad,” he added.
Higgins paid a tribute to the Women of Honour and the Men and Women of Honour groups who he recently met with at Áras an Uachtaráin.
He criticised the hierarchical structure of the military but paid tribute, particularly, to the peacekeeping work of the troops over 60 years.
The President said he hopes that young people about to join the Irish Defence Forces will serve in an inclusive organisation.
But Higgins sounded a concern that the issues identified in the IRG report may go further than beyond the Irish Defence Forces and out into Irish society more broadly.
“All of what I have said is informed by my position as Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces.
“However, as President of Ireland, I am left with the greatest anxiety that this institutional failure is far from confined to the Defence Forces, and in many cases there are lessons to be drawn, and transformations to be made, that are now urgent, not only within the Defence Forces, but across our society and many of our institutions,” he added.
“We must all support every effort at such reform as will give us a truly human institutional profile, one built on dignity and a respect for both vulnerability and excellence. That is the true test of institutional effectiveness,” he added.
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