Defence Forces commission delays publication of report following criticism

The Commission on the Future of Defence Forces has delayed the publication of its report until early next year.

The move follows sharp criticism of a draft version of the report by the Defence Forces’ general staff and senior civil servants last month.

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney established the commission last year to examine a range of issues within the military, including a retention crisis which has left the Defence Forces some 1,000 members short of its establishment strength of 9,500.

It had been scheduled to present its final report to Government this month ahead of its general publication early next year. The report will now not be presented to Mr Coveney until at least January.

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“This week the commission had another full day meeting,” a spokeswoman said. “The commission has been making good progress on finalising its draft report but will need some additional time and will meet again in January.”

It is understood the delay has been caused by disagreement between members of the commission on the current state of the draft report. There have been tensions between some members of the commission recently about the direction and scope of its work.

The commission sent draft versions to senior officials in the Department of Defence and Defence Forces in November. Civilian and military officials believed the draft did not adequately address the commission's terms of reference.

They described the report as vague and contradictory in places, including in relation to Army command structures, the future of the Defence Forces’ headquarters and future interactions between civilian and military officials.

The Defence Forces’ criticisms were the most severe and included complaints about a lack of focus on developing future capabilities and a lack of ambition on how to address the retention crisis.

This week former army officer turned independent TD for Kildare South Cathal Berry raised concerns about the report with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Dáil.

He said he has concerns the 15-member Commission is only a “rubber stamp” while its secretariat does “most of the writing and most of the drafting.”

Mr Berry asked for assurances that the commission, which is made up of former military and civil service personnel, industrial relations experts and academics, “is autonomous, independent, has editorial autonomy and is free from any bureaucratic interference”.

The Taoiseach responded said the commission is mandated to “deliver whatever recommendations it sees fit.” He said the members of the commission “don’t sound to me like people who would stand for any rubber stamping by any secretariat of any report. There are strong personalities on that commission, people with experience.”

Mr Martin said the process is being taken seriously and that "we do need to change, we do need to improve."

Military officials had hoped that the commission would lay a foundation for the regeneration of Defence Forces numbers and a significant upgrade in its capabilities. It has also been tasked with examining culture and management issues within the military.