The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces Ireland (ODF) is an independent office tasked with investigating complaints made by current and former members of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

. The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces was established as an independent statutory body as a result of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004. It is charged with dealing with complaints made by current and former members of the Defence Forces – including the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Naval Service Naval Service may refer to either: * His Majesty's Naval Service, Britain's Royal Navy plus additional services * Naval Service (Ireland), a branch of the Irish Defence Forces * United States Department of the Navy, United States military department ...

, Air Corps and

Reserve Defence Forces The Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) ( ga, Na hÓglaigh Cúltaca) are the combined Military reserve force, reserve components of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The RDF is organised into the First Line Reserve (FLR) and an active S ...

. The ODF handles complaints concerning actions taken by serving or former military personnel of the Defence Forces (of all ranks) or civil servants (

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

) where there is an adverse effect, in cases where existing internal grievance procedures have either been exhausted, the complainant believes have not resulted in a fair outcome or their complaint has not been appropriately dealt with internally within 28 days. To protect the confidentiality of the complainants and complaints and the integrity of the complaints procedure, The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) does not apply to the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. Staff at the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces consists of one: * Investigation Officer (Assistant Principal Officer) * Case Manager (Higher Executive Officer) * Administrative Assistant (Clerical Officer) Former Court of Appeal judge, Alan Mahon, is the current Ombudsman, appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

on the recommendation of

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in July 2018. The Ombudsman is selected through an open competition run by the

Commission for Public Service Appointments The Commission for Public Service Appointments ( ga, Coimisiúin um Cheapacháin Seirbhíse Poiblí) is an independent Irish statutory body which sets standards for recruitment in the public service. The Commission is not to be confused with the P ...

References

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External links

Official website of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces Ireland
Military of the Republic of Ireland 2004 establishments in Ireland

See also

References

External links