Leabharlann na Meán

Eisiúintí Nuachta

Cuireann an tUachtarán Ó hUigínn fáilte roimh an Uasal Dónal de Róiste go hÁras an Uachtaráin

Dáta: Déa 30th Már, 2023 | 15:24

Tráthnóna inniu, chuir an tUachtarán Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn fáilte roimh an Uasal Dónal de Róiste agus roimh a theaghlach agus a chairde, ar chuairt chúirtéise go hÁras an Uachtaráin. 
 
Thug an tUachtarán Ó hUigínn cuireadh don Uasal de Róiste teacht go hÁras an Uachtaráin mar aitheantas ar an leithscéal a fuair sé ón Aire Cosanta ar an 7 Nollaig 2022, ar an gciapadh a d’fhulaing sé ar feadh leathchéad bliain, agus ar a thóraíocht fhada lena ainm a ghlanadh. 
 
Ina leithscéal, ghabh an tAire Cosanta leithscéal leis an Uasal Dónal de Róiste thar ceann an Rialtais as an gciapadh a d’fhulaing an tUasal de Róiste thar na blianta, ó cuireadh óna ról in Óglaigh na hÉireann é i 1969. Tháinig an leithscéal tar éis don Uasal Niall Beirne SC athbhreithniú a dhéanamh, inar léiríodh nach raibh dífhostú an Uasail de Róiste i gcomhréir leis an dlí. 
 
Admhaíodh i ráiteas an Aire leas fadtéarmach an Uachtaráin Uí Uigínn i gcás an Uasail de Róiste. 
 
Ag an ócáid, léigh an tUachtarán Ó hUigínn litir don Uasal de Róiste inar chuir sé fáilte roimh thorthaí athbhreithniú an Uasail Beirne agus an leithscéal a tugadh. Bhronn an tUachtarán an litir ar an Uasal de Róiste ansin.
 
Thagair an tUachtarán don dochar pearsanta a rinneadh don Uasal de Róiste agus dá theaghlach mar thoradh ar an mbunchinneadh, agus dúirt go raibh sé dóchasach go dtabharfadh torthaí an athbhreithnithe, agus leithscéal an Rialtais, síocháin don Uasal de Róiste, dá theaghlaigh agus dá lucht leanúna, faoi dheireadh thiar thall.
 
Is í seo a leanas litir an Uachtaráin: 

“Dear Dónal

As President of Ireland, and Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, I was pleased when in 2020 the Government authorised a review into your case and the circumstances of your forced retirement in 1969. I am also aware that this followed a resolution from Seanad Éireann in 2010 calling for such a review.

For some time and particularly since my election as President of Ireland, I have sought to bring light to your concerns surrounding your compulsory retirement “in the interest of the service” under signature of the then President, a decision without an appeal process.

I have been seeking answers to the many questions of fair procedure that have arisen following the use of an instrument under Section 47 (2) of the Defence Act, 1954, by my predecessor President De Valera, on the advice of the then Government.  All of this has taken a very long time, and for you most of all, I am aware that it has been one of painful and ever more tedious recollection of a wrong suffered decades ago but with enduring consequences.

I am aware of, and welcome, the findings of the review by Mr. Niall Beirne SC that the decision on your compulsory retirement in 1969 was “fundamentally flawed” and “not in accordance with law”.  The section referred to in the 1954 Act for your compulsory retirement was amended in 1988.

I welcome the apology from the Minister for Defence on behalf of Government which followed the publication of the review (7 December 2022) for the distress and upset you have suffered over the years.

The review of Mr. Niall Beirne SC concluded that in deciding to advise President DeValera on your retirement without affording you fair procedure that this process was “seriously and fatally compromised”. 

Indeed, in referencing the provision to the right to one’s good name in Article 40.3.2 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the reviewer concludes that “it is difficult to envisage how greater damage could be caused to the good name of an officer of the Defence Forces than his compulsory retirement because no trust or confidence could be reposed in him and that to retain him in the Army would hazard military security and the safety of the State.”

It bears repeating that the conclusion of the review into your retirement was that it was not “in accordance with the law”.

I am aware of the tremendous personal toll that this decision has had on your life, of the hurt that it has caused to you and to your family. I believe your motivation of joining the Defence Forces as a young man was based on a love of your country and a commitment to a life of service.  It is my sincere hope that the findings of this review, its acceptance by Government, and subsequent apology, will bring some peace to you personally, and to your family and supporters.

May I take the opportunity to commend the unwavering commitment of your family and supporters, including your late mother Christina, and their dedication to restoring your good name.

In recognition of the failings that surround the circumstances of your retirement, I welcome the opportunity to host you and your family at the home of the President, Áras an Uachtaráin, associated as Áras an Uachtaráin was in the great wrong you suffered, but where today you are welcomed, and that wrong and the long process of your vindications is acknowledged and concluded at a meeting that I hope gives you some healing.

Beir gach beannacht don todhchaí, 
Yours sincerely 
Michael D. Higgins 
Uachtarán na hÉireann 
President of Ireland”