Last week the House held a timely and detailed debate about the handling and contents of the White Paper on Defence. During that debate the failings of the Minister and the suspicion and mistrust he engendered among all ranks of the Defence Forces were laid bare for all to see.
On the conclusion of that debate, I called on the Minister to undertake a number of specific actions which will begin the process of rebuilding his relationship with the Defence Forces and restore the morale of the men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the State. These were constructive proposals which were in the best interests of both the Defence Forces and the Minister.
However, yet again the plea for a rational and reasoned approach to the Defence Forces was ignored by the Minister. On Saturday morning The Examiner carried an alarming story on its front page, an article which raised the most serious questions about the Minister's ability to continue in the portfolio. In the extracts from the memo published by The Examiner the Minister is alleged to have described the eleventh hour deal hammered out between himself and the Chief of Staff in the following terms:
Although trumpeted everywhere as a major concession, in effect this supposed agreement is something of a chimera which evaporates under careful scrutiny; in truth a fig leaf to cover the Chief of Staff's retreat from an increasingly untenable position. The spoils of victory claimed by the military comprise a loosely worded document which does little more than restate what is already in the White Paper with a few routine administrative adjustments thrown in for padding.
The Minister also accused the Defence Forces of acting with a lack of grace which barely fell short of mutiny during the completion of the White Paper. These are disgraceful and contemptuous remarks about the Defence Forces. The Minister must inform the House whether he made or authorised all or some of the remarks in this leaked memo. He must explain the origin of this memo and how it appeared on the front page of a national newspaper. He should also apologise for the insults in the memo aimed at the most senior Army officer in the State if he was involved in its production. The Minister must clarify the situation with regard to the signed agreement he reached with Lieutenant General Stapleton shortly before the publication of the White Paper. Why was this agreement not included in the White Paper or at least inserted in the appendix? Will the contents of this agreement be included in the final version of the White Paper which we are led to believe will be published over the coming days? The Minister must also confirm whether he believes this agreement is an important element of the White Paper or just padding and a fig leaf to cover the retreat of the Chief of Staff.
The conduct of the Minister since taking office has had a drastic effect on morale in the Defence Forces. The White Paper process represents a new low in the relationship between the most senior officers and the Minister. The contents of the leaked memo are so serious that unless they can be refuted by the Minister, I regret that his position as Minister for Defence is untenable. No group of workers would put up with the condescending and arrogant approach revealed in the language and content of the memo. His approach to staff relations belongs to the Victorian age and has no place in a modern administration where new challenges and opportunities have to be faced. The memo leaked to The Examiner is nothing short of a disgrace. The author of the memo should have no role in the future direction of the Defence Forces. I look forward to the Minister's reply.
