On 13th November 2025 ARCO received the following communication from the Office of Veteran Affairs, Support Services & Veteran Affairs Branch of the Department of Defence:
As you are no doubt aware, the Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry has recently made Disclosure Orders against the Minister for Defence and the Chief of Staff. I thought it would be useful to provide an update on this matter as you may receive queries from your members who receive a notification under GDPR.
The background to these orders is that the Tribunal has been conducting interviews with individuals who have come forward to assist it during the private investigative stage of its inquiry. To ensure compliance with the requirements of fair procedures and constitutional justice and to progress its investigations, the Tribunal now wishes to contact a number of individuals whose names may have been referenced in its earlier stage.
Following the making of Disclosure Orders on 23 October 2025 by the Tribunal, the Tánaiste and Chief of Staff have been directed to provide the contact details of certain individuals with whom it now seeks to engage, within 14 days of receipt of correspondence from the Tribunal.
Requests for contact information from the Tribunal have commenced and officials in the Department are working closely with Defence Forces colleagues to locate and validate relevant contact details for onward transmission to the Tribunal in line with the Tribunal’s Disclosure Orders.
Once contact details are verified internally, and in line with GDPR obligations, it is necessary to advise individuals that their contact details will be provided to the Tribunal. Given the independence of the Tribunal, where an individual has an inquiry relating to a Disclosure Order request, they should engage directly with the Tribunal.
This communication has been published on our website for the information of members. Members are also encouraged to visit the website of the Defence Forces Tribunal, (https://www.toidf.ie/) particularly its Latest News section.
