116 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Defence the number of courts martial that have taken place in the Defence Forces in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8886/07]

The number of Courts Martial, per year, in each of the last 10 years is as follows:

*Joint Trial: Courts-martial in which two persons were tried.

In recent years, there have generally been about a dozen courts-martial per year. In 2006, no courts-martial were held due to the then imminent publication of the Defence (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2006. This Bill is currently before the Dáil. The purpose of the Bill is to update the provisions of Part V of the Defence Acts having due regard to prevailing Human Rights norms. In that regard, it includes significant changes to the procedures for convening and conducting courts-martial.

I expect that the annual number of courts-martial, under the new arrangements, may well increase. The increase will be mainly due to the introduction of an absolute right of appeal to the new summary courts-martial from a determination or punishment of a Commanding Officer. The abolition of detention as a punishment awardable by a Commanding Officer and the new right to opt, or elect, for trial by courts-martial at the outset of summary disposal, are also likely to lead to some increase in the number of courts-martial per annum.