Message from the Ombudsman

May I welcome you to the Website of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces in Ireland.

It was my privilege to be appointed as the first Ombudsman for the Defence Forces in September, 2005 under new Legislation – The Ombudsman (Defence Forces Act) 2004, which became operational on the 1st December, 2005. As Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, I am empowered to investigate complaints by members, and former members, of the Defence Forces and the Reserve Defence Force.

In my role as Ombudsman, I operate as an autonomous Office which means that in the exercise of my functions, I am independent of the Minister for Defence, the Department of Defence, and the Military Authorities. As Ombudsman, I am there to ensure that members and former members of the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force have a rigorous independent and fair Appeal for complaints they believe have not been adequately addressed by the Internal Military Complaints or Grievance procedures.

The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces was established by law through the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act, 2004 to provide administrative oversight of the Defence Forces. On the 19th September 2005, I was appointed as the first Ombudsman for the Defence Forces by President Mary McAleese, the President of Ireland.

As Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, my objective, with the support of my staff, has been to provide serving and former members of the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force with an accessible, efficient, and effective service.

I do hope that this Website will be helpful in outlining my role and how I can be of service to you. If you have any questions about a complaint or any other matter please let me know.

Information in relation to the role and function of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces has been available in Braille and in audio format since the start-up of the Office. You will also notice that there is an Audio File on this Website which is a recording of my Annual Report for 2009 and it is my intention to provide this for the Annual Report for 2010.

If you have any difficulties finding the information which you require on the Website or you have any other observations in relation to how the Website could be improved, there is an on-line Feed-back facility for that purpose.