Senator John McGahon - speech from 11 Nov 2020

Thank you very much here on the panel. Minister, firstly I'd like to start off by thanking Senator Joe Reilly, who is the Fine Gael Spokesperson on Defence, for allowing me to lead in this debate on behalf of our party and to take that time. So I'd like to thank Senator Reilly for that. And before I get into the merits of this debate and why I believe we should have these medals awarded, I want to pay tribute to individuals like Senator Crockwell, like former Senator Gabb McFadden, people who are lone voices in the wilderness for so long, who are now being joined by a chorus of voices of political parties on none from right across both chambers of this Oireachtas. And I really want to pay tribute to those individuals first of all. And indeed one only needs to put the word Jadidville into Kildare Street to look at the flurry of PQs, commencement debates, mention on the order of business by Senator Wall last week, and so many of us here in the last month alone, let alone what individuals have been doing on both sides of the House. I want to also highlight how what I have found as a new member of this House, what the most refreshing aspect of this debate, is that there is no political one-upmanship from any of us here. There is no one trying to get out in front of another individual. There is no one trying to get credit or anything like that. Everybody is very much on the same page. We're all sharing information with each other that we get back from representations. We're all talking to each other. I've picked up the phone to Senator Crockwell and Senator Wall more times in the last couple of weeks than ever before. And I really think that is an important thing to put on. We are very much all on the same page here. And that also, Minister Coveney brings me to you, who as a former Minister of Defence previously have really engaged, you really have in your office, have really engaged in this issue to date. And I want to thank you for that, because I know you are extremely genuine and extremely sincere. And we have seen that in your remarks today. And I think we can all agree with that, that the Minister very much wants to see some sort of successful conclusion brought to this. I also want to pay a tribute to Commandant Leo Quinlan, son of Pat Quinlan. Without the determination of Leo over the last couple of years, I would be fearful that that issue could have fallen by the wayside, could have fallen into the annals of time and could have been forgotten about. And if it wasn't for Commandant Leo Quinlan, who I've had the pleasure of speaking with on a number of occasions over the last week, to increase my own understanding of what is a very complex issue, we may not even be discussing these issues today. The Jadotville action is the biggest military engagement that the Irish Army have ever faced against a foreign enemy since the foundation of this state. It's likened to the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, to the Battle of Rourke's Drift in 1879 during the Zulu Wars. Can you imagine that, I suppose, when you think about it, that 155 Irish troops and a battle that they engage in is in the same league, historically speaking, as the Battle of the Alamo? Just 155 Irish troops are in that same level of military engagement in the history of military conflict in the world. And that's a result because of the incredible tactician and military strategist that Commandant Pat Quinlan was. That's why that battle is right up there. It's because of his ability in terms of being a military tactician. And the fact that only five Irish troops were wounded during that five-day siege is a testament to Commandant Quinlan and how he valued the lives of the troops under his command. that he refused to, he ensured that a field of fire, which Senator Corkwell explained to me earlier today, a field of fire was placed on enemy targets rather than putting Irish troops in situations where their lives, the threat of injury or death were dramatically increased because of the position that they were put in. He kept his soldiers safe. He looked after them. And that's why only five were wounded in a five-day siege against 3,500 enemy forces. Minister, I believe there are historical reasons as to why medals weren't awarded back in the 1960s, in the 1970s and the 1980s. And I'm not here today to dwell on those historical reasons. That's for others to decide, and it's in the past. What I'm here to do today is to focus on the present, to focus on the here and now, about what we can do to try and bring a level of justice to this debate. And I want to be very, very clear, and Senator Corkwell was even clearer than I, that awarding these medals, Minister, is not in your personal gift whatsoever. And it would be wrong if it was, because then we're bringing politicians into military aspects. That's wrong. And it's wrong for anyone else to suggest, otherwise, and no one has, but it's easy for that to get lost in the emotion of the debate. It is not the Minister's role, and it's not in his gift or his ability to award medals, military medals. But what we can do, and what I think is simple enough, is that we request the Chief of Staff of the Irish Army to convene a medals board, as has already been outlined. And let that medals board examine the whole thing again, in light of new information that I have no doubt will be supplied when the export grouping meets. And if they decide, there's nothing to answer here. If they decide that, which I don't think they will, but if they do, well, that is fair enough. Because we have asked for a medals board to be reconvened to examine the issue again, in much greater detail. And yes, there are technicalities, and yes, there are stumbling blocks around defence force regulations, and it means we have to amend them slightly to look at something like Jadaville. Then let's do it. I really believe, Minister, that you are very genuine in your desire on this issue, and we have seen that with your opening statement today. A number of members will be aware of the work that Minister Coveney's office have done in the last couple of weeks as well, in engaging in this issue, and to try and bring it to, I won't say a successful conclusion, but to really try and move the matter forward as much as possible. I can't speak for any other members here, but I would like to think that all of us would agree that we are very thankful for that, especially when so many of us have been raising it over the last couple of weeks, in my case, or years, in the case of Senator Crockwell and others. Finally, Minister, I'm a firm believer in that it's never too late to do the right thing, no matter what the issue is in life. It's never too late, whether it's 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or in the case of this, the 50th anniversary, or the 60th anniversary, back in early September. If we allow this debate to continue on and to rumble on over the next year or two years, we're going to have a situation where more of the surviving eight veterans will sadly have passed away or succumb to a old age. We'll look back at this moment now and we'll just say to ourselves, God, how foolish were we not to try and fix this issue in the here and now. There's no point trying to do it after these people have passed away and awarded posthumely. There's no point whatsoever. It's amazing when you think about it, that these surviving men were just boys when they came under enemy fire in sub-Saharan Africa. Boys, 15, 16-year-old boys, and they survived and they need to be recognised. My only ask coming out of this debate, and I'm very thankful, Minister, that you've actually come to this house with a clear outline of what you intend to do, you haven't come here and paid lip service and kind of walked out, given, you know, you have come here with a clear, definitive plan of how you want to progress this issue. And my only ask would be that you set very clear time limits that everyone in this house knows about, of when the export group will report back to the chief of staff, and then when the chief of staff reports back to you for you to make any potential decision. If we have a clear timeframe, I think that would calm a lot of the fears among the military community and many members of this Oireachtas. Thank you.