The independent review group report into the Defence Forces makes for shocking reading. It details really serious issues around a toxic culture that pertains in the Defence Forces. The report of the group chaired by Ms Justice Bronagh O'Hanlon makes findings over 50 pages and, on almost each of them, we see evidence of the abuse of members of our Defence Forces in Army barracks, on Naval Service boats, on overseas tours and elsewhere in the line of duty. Some of the shocking findings merit reading into the record of the House today. The report states:

The types of bullying described ranged from behaviour leading to suicides (often characterised as ‘accidental deaths’) to serious physical assaults, very serious sexual assaults (including rapes), and the sexual targeting of new entrants

It also states that "interviewees described their experience of their training as literal torture and said that some members of their class took their own lives." These are appalling findings. Both men and women have been affected and the findings relate to us that these issues and this culture endure to the present day. This is a culture we are told is gendered. Even though both men and women are affected, it is heavily gendered. We are told this culture at best "barely tolerates women" and that, at worst, it abuses women in its ranks. This is shocking to read. Everyone should have the right to go to work and carry out his or her duties free from harassment and violence and yet we see in the report that women members of the Defence Forces were advised to keep two locks on their bedroom doors to ward off those seeking to assault them as they slept. Some interviewees reported having to barricade sleeping quarters to prevent assault. They reported being groomed or spiked with alcohol or drugs. This is a horrific environment and all of us will want to send our thoughts and sympathies to all of those affected because it is hard to conceive of the terror these individuals must have experienced at work, realising that there was no institutional support, that they were unprotected and that people within the institution who made complaints were punished for doing so, with perpetrators moved on to work elsewhere.

I pay tribute to the Women of Honour. The experiences they detailed have now been vindicated by this report. They showed great courage in speaking with RTÉ's Katie Hannon, to whom I pay tribute for her work in keeping this issue on the agenda. I am glad the Taoiseach has accepted the need for a statutory inquiry and I welcome that. However, will he give us a timeline for the establishment of that inquiry? It must be up and running before the Oireachtas rises for the summer at the latest to ensure we see speedy and timely work on the recommendations of the report. Furthermore, the Women of Honour must be involved. It is crucial that we see their engagement with the statutory inquiry. Can we be sure this sort of culture does not prevail in other State institutions? I am thinking of An Garda Síochána and of politics. We need to make sure we are not tolerating or enabling the continuation of these sorts of toxic workplace cultures.

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this important issue, which is being discussed across the country today. The report of the independent review group is shocking. It will shock anyone who reads it. Issues with bullying and harassment in the Defence Forces, some of a sexual nature, have been reported on before but never so starkly. It is clear that attempts made to change things - and attempts have been made - have failed. Unlike many other issues we have dealt with in this House, this is not historic. It is ongoing and appears to be wide scale. I join with Deputy Bacik in paying tribute to the Women of Honour, the men and women of honour, Katie Hannon of RTÉ, Senator Clonan and many others who have shone a light on all of this. I also record my thanks to Ms Justice O'Hanlon and her team for their thorough and timely work.

The Defence Forces have been entrusted with the defence of our State since its foundation. The Irish women and men of the Defence Forces are loyal to the flag and to the uniform and are willing to defend the State and bring peace to remote corners of the world. They deserve our support and respect and they have it but they also need to respect each other, particularly women, young people and those at a lower rank than themselves. The vast majority of our soldiers, sailors and airmen and airwomen have not engaged in these awful practices. There should be no stain on their character or reputation. The same applies to the tens of thousands of veterans and former servicepeople.

Nonetheless, in this report, we read of bullying, discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment, including sexual violence. We read that, when victims sought help under the internal complaints system, they were left disappointed and were often penalised. Many good soldiers left as a result. We see an organisation that is in critical need of fundamental and immediate cultural and behavioural change that goes to the very heart of issues relating to dignity, mutual respect and duty of care. The Government will bring about the change necessary to ensure the dignity and integrity of women and men in our Defence Forces is safeguarded at all times. The House has my assurance, that of the Tánaiste and that of the Government that we will prioritise this issue. As Deputy Bacik correctly said, we have agreed to a judge-led statutory inquiry as to how complaints and interpersonal issues, including sexual misconduct, were handled. We are keen to have that up and running as soon as possible but it is important to get it right and to have the engagement of the Women of Honour and the men and women of honour, serving and former personnel of the Defence Forces. It is important that we get it right and that we get the format right. There are a number of different options in that regard. The Tánaiste is very keen to engage with stakeholders before drawing up the terms of reference and putting them before the House.

I thank the Taoiseach for the response and I echo his words of commendation for the immense work of, and the bravery shown by, members of the Defence Forces, who are renowned worldwide for their commitment to peacekeeping and for the immense service they have given on missions overseas for many years. However, I also acknowledge that, as the Taoiseach has said, the findings of this report make for alarming reading and disclose an ongoing and wide scale problem with the culture within the Defence Forces. I note the Taoiseach's comments about his Government's intention to work swiftly on this matter and to engage with stakeholders. That is crucially important but the time after the publication of a report like this is crucial and sensitive treatment is required. We are all conscious that, for those affected, reading the report and hearing public debate on it now that it has been published is very difficult and potentially very traumatic. I have represented some survivors of mother and baby homes and institutional abuse and they have told me how they found themselves traumatised again when the report was published, even though much of it vindicated what they had said and their experiences. It is therefore very important that neither the Government nor any of us traumatise these people again and that we move swiftly, although steadily, as the Taoiseach has said, to ensure that an appropriate response is given and that the terms of reference for this inquiry meet the needs of survivors. I again ask for clarity on a timeline and on the sequencing of the steps to be taken by Government to protect survivors.

There are a number of recommendations in the report, 13 in total, and we have accepted them all. There are some we can implement very quickly. For example, we can enact legislation to amend the Defence Act 1954 to provide a legislative basis to enable allegations of any type of sexual assault in the Defence Forces to be referred to An Garda Síochána rather than the internal military police. That is among the things I believe everyone agrees on and we can do that very quickly. It is the same for the commissioning of a non-statutory inquiry into the process of medical boarding and a further study of deaths by suicide among current and former members of the Defence Forces over the past 20 years. It is important that we do that. Previous studies have shown that the suicide rate was similar to that for others in the same age group but, quite frankly, we need to look at that again and we will do so.

With regard to a public inquiry, there will be a public inquiry led by a judge or retired judge. I do not want to put a timeline on it because, as the Deputy has pointed out, it is just as important that we get it right. We need to act with speed but also with sensitivity. The Tánaiste and the Government are keen to have it up and running before the summer recess but I do not want to make that commitment today only to find out that it is more complicated than we thought.

Crucial to this is the engagement, full co-operation and confidence of Women of Honour, men and women of honour and others. We need to engage with them before agreeing a timeline.