Taoiseach has thrown the armed forces under the bus with comments on the Crotty case

Taoiseach Simon Harris has “put the armed forces under the bus” with his comments following the conviction of a serving soldier for attacking a woman in Limerick, according to an employment lawyer and former army officer.

Cathal Crotty pleaded guilty to assaulting Natasha O’Brien in 2022 and received a suspended sentence, sparking public outcry.

After the case, the Taoiseach said: “There are people in the armed forces who clearly knew this was happening. Why did they not do anything? These are very serious questions and as Taoiseach I am not happy with this, not at all.”

Barry Crushell is a lawyer specialising in employment law and a former army officer who has served on several missions with the United Nations.

In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Mr Crushell pointed out that due to certain regulations, the force had no ability to take action against an individual in a criminal or civil court until the case was concluded.

Against this background, he argued that the criticism from Mr Harris and other politicians was unfair.

“It feels like Harris deliberately threw the armed forces under the bus.”

“The country, and Harris in particular, has not been well received by the armed forces and its former members. It feels as if Harris has deliberately thrown the armed forces under the bus.”

“He is certainly aware that the armed forces do not have the power to suspend Crotty. The armed forces could not intervene earlier because this could harm the criminal proceedings.”

He also said that the criticism of the commanding officer who attended the trial was unjustified because an appraisal report is not the same as a character reference.

“As regards the Crotty case, the fact that the commander in charge of investigating this criminal case had to present a recent performance appraisal to the judge caused great consternation within the ranks of the armed forces, particularly among officers.

“Afterward, this performance review was mistakenly interpreted by many members of the press as a character reference, when in fact it was not. It was simply a reading of Crotty’s previous performance review. It was labelled as a character reference, which was incorrect.

“The armed forces’ regulations, drawn up by politicians, require an officer to be present at the trial and to make such a statement upon request.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Micheál Martin had suggested that a practice called “local leave” could be used for suspension, but Mr Crushell said that was not the purpose of the procedure.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin suggested using local leave for the suspension.

“On the issue of Crotty’s suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, Micheál Martin spoke of individuals being placed on ‘local leave’. Local leave was provided for in the regulations but was never intended to be an alternative to suspension. In a normal workplace, an employer can suspend an employee if their conduct borders on criminal in nature or is actually criminal.

“The armed forces are one of the most heavily regulated work environments in the state. In cases where an individual is charged in criminal court, it is common for the armed forces to withhold internal proceedings or sanctions until the civil/criminal proceedings are concluded.

“In this case, the request to take local leave is an ad hoc request. Local leave is intended to provide officers with discretion when requesting leave in exceptional circumstances. A typical example would be a soldier attending a funeral, medical appointment or other unforeseen family event.

“It was never intended as an alternative to a suspension power, which is something entirely different. I would question the legality of a commander’s decision to send a soldier on long-term local leave as an alternative to suspension, especially because he is being summoned to a criminal trial.”

When Mr Harris was challenged over his comments by army groups and independent MP Cathal Berry, who served in the Army Ranger Wing, he defended his position.

“I don’t need anyone to explain this to me or write me long tweets telling me I don’t understand. I understand it very well,” Harris said.

“There are already regulations in place. I think that within the parameters that already exist, it is certainly possible to effectively release anyone convicted of a serious crime from prison. But I also think that we need to go further.”

Commenting on this, Crushell said: “I think that initial, knee-jerk reaction may have been justified. The problem is that Harris, having been briefed by the representative associations, continued to stir up trouble over this issue and Cathal Berry reiterated his claim that he was unhappy with the way this matter was being handled by the armed forces.

“This despite knowing about the limitations of the armed forces, which made it difficult for him to take the actions he would otherwise have wanted.”

Natasha O’Brien speaks to the media as she joins protesters outside Leinster House in Dublin.

He added: “We have a full-time Minister of Justice, but not one for defence. It is a subordinate position that has been passed from politician to politician without any of them giving it the importance that most members believe it deserves.”

“If the armed forces need to be reformed, then so be it. Members are ready to participate in this reform and make it a better place for all affected personnel.”

“Every member of the armed forces detests Crotty’s actions and feels great sympathy for Natasha O’Brien. They do not want the armed forces to be made a scapegoat for incidents such as this when in reality they were virtually powerless to do what politicians and the General Staff would have liked to do anyway.”