Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Questions 12/06/25 – Air Corps – Health Issues Due to Hazardous Chemicals

Watch Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD, the Sinn Fein Spokesperson for Defence, ask Tánaiste & Minister for Defence Simon Harris to discuss health and safety measures in the Air Corps for the third time.

Transcript

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

Question:3. . Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to outline, further to recent Dáil debates, his views on past health and safety measures in the Air Corps, and potential engagements with interested groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31321/25]

This question relates to issues relating to the safety measures, or lack thereof, that potentially existed in terms of Air Corps aircraft maintenance personnel over the course of recent decades. We spoke about two broad areas during our last discussion. One was the court-related issues. I flag that in response to the points the Minister made last time, several people have told me the engagement with the State Claims Agency is not anything like it should be. Even separate to that, there is the need for a policy-oriented response from the Department.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

In fairness to the Deputy, he put me on notice that he is going to raise this issue on each and every occasion, quite rightly and understandably considering the seriousness of it. As I set out previously, and as I am obliged to set out every time this question is posed to me, and despite the constructive way in which the question has been put forward, any discussions we might seek to have or any comments I make are necessarily limited in light of the ongoing litigation in respect of this matter currently being before our courts. I have set out this position in the House previously. There is a limit to what I can say in the circumstances to avoid intrusion into the independent role of our courts in respect of these matters.

The issue of alleged exposure to chemicals in the Air Corps is, as the Deputy said, the subject of a number of litigation cases, the management of which has been statutorily delegated to the State Claims Agency. I do, though, wish to advise the Deputy – while remaining faithful to the limitations I have just set out – that at my request and following on from our discussions my officials have started to develop preliminary options and begun a process of the consideration in relation to any possible actions that may inform the general position of those who allege experiencing harm arising from potential chemical exposure. The initial exercise is under way. It is exploratory and arises from my undertaking to the Deputy during previous sessions of oral parliamentary questions. I do not want to go into too many specifics at this point. This is primarily because a considerable portion of the nature and scope of any proposal will need to take account of what can be done without cutting across the current litigation cases and in the context of agreeing these limits and appropriate consultation.

This is not in my prepared answer, but I would be very happy to have a briefing with the Deputy on this matter and to ask my officials to sit down and hear his views and thoughts. As I said, there is a challenge in respect of meeting individual people but perhaps we could have my officials engage with the Deputy concerning some of his thoughts on this matter. I know they are working to try to make progress.

I again draw the Deputy’s attention to the point I made during our previous discussion on this matter, namely, that there is an ongoing process of engagement between the State Claims Agency and current plaintiffs. I did ask that this process be given the time and space. I am interested to know what the Deputy is hearing in respect of that engagement.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

On that point, while I understand there are restrictions on what the Minister can respond to me on, a former personnel member who was a part of aircraft maintenance said there was no current active engagement between the State Claims Agency and litigants despite what the Minister had claimed in the Dáil the previous week. The former personnel member stated that nobody from the State Claims Agency had talked to any survivors since before the recent settlement of a particular case. I ask the Minister to take that information away. I know there are limits on what he can say in response to me, but I ask him to take this information with him and put it to the State Claims Agency that there is not engagement.

Aside from that, I am glad to hear what the Minister said in respect of options being looked at. In terms of what we should be looking at, this seems clear to me. There are things that need to be worked up, but one of the most fundamental things is a health review and analysis of health outcomes. Related to that, it must be ensured that people are not out of pocket as a result of the healthcare situations they have found themselves in.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I will very much take away the point made by the Deputy there in respect of a lack of engagement because my note tells me there is an ongoing process of engagement. Clearly, both cannot be factually true. I will, therefore, personally undertake to clarify this point with the State Claims Agency and I am happy to revert to the Deputy.

As I said, my officials have begun an exploratory process to consider what options may be available to me from a policy perspective to consider this issue further. Without straying too far, my thinking is that there are legal cases and I would like all these resolved insofar as they can be in a constructive manner. Legal cases, however, always require cause and effect and being able to prove cause and effect. Regardless of that threshold, if there are people in our country who have health needs, there are examples in the past of where we have endeavoured to meet those health needs, separate and distinct from any legal process and trying to establish cause and effect, which people have every right to try to do. These are the two separate issues I am trying to grapple with. I do think of times in the past when, without any admissions of liability, the State has taken actions to try to meet the health needs of some of its people. This is something we should explore.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

That is in the area we need to be looking at. There are potentially more things than that, but that is one of the crucial areas. It is not only the case here that other sectors or categories of people have had wrongs inflicted on them and sometimes it is difficult to put them all through the courts for a variety of reasons, but it has also been the case internationally. I have raised previously with the Minister some of the responses in Australia and the Netherlands in the context of aircraft maintenance personnel. The self-same issue has arisen elsewhere and it has been on the healthcare side of things.

Regarding what the Minister said about exploring options, I have two questions. What kind of timescale are we looking at? I would welcome the opportunity to have a briefing with the Minister and some of his officials, but, equally, it would hardly be appropriate if it was simply Members of this House who had that opportunity. There are representative organisations, such as the Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors organisation and potentially others. It would be only right that at some stage in this process they would have the opportunity to have an engagement.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

When the time is right and the advice to me is that it is appropriate for me to have meetings, I will be very happy to engage. I obviously have the Deputy in a separate and distinct category as the spokesperson on defence for the largest Opposition party. I am happy to engage with him to see if we can constructively make progress. I will ask, and I have already asked, that we look at the examples in the other jurisdictions referred to by the Deputy. I do not have an exact timeline in relation to this matter. I am informed there are significant complexities in this regard. Perhaps at a meeting or a briefing we could tease through some of this issue in a bit more detail and then no doubt return to it at the next session of parliamentary questions as well.

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Delay – Deny – Die

State attempting to reach settlements with Air Corps chemical victims, Tánaiste says

Cases relating to exposure to dangerous chemicals used in aircraft maintenance are due before the courts

The State Claims Agency (SCA) is attempting to reach settlements with Air Corps members who were exposed to dangerous chemicals during their work, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said.

It follows the conclusion of a landmark court case earlier this year in which a former Air Corps technician was awarded €2 million.

In what was seen as a major test case, Gary Coll (51), from Lifford, Co Donegal, alleged his exposure to chemicals in the workshops of Casement Aerodrome caused him severe and lifelong health problems.

On the opening day of the hearing last February the parties agreed a settlement that did not include any admission of responsibility by the State.

Campaigners accused the State of dragging out the legal process for more than a decade.

The case against the Department of Defence was the first of 10 personal injuries cases due before the courts relating to the exposure of Air Corps members to dangerous chemicals and solvents used in aircraft maintenance.

Campaigners say there are many other Air Corps veterans who have died prematurely or suffered severe health problems in connection with their work.

Now, Mr Harris, who is also Minister for Defence, has signalled the State is keen to settle the remaining cases.

“I want to see a resolution in this regard,” Mr Harris told the Dáil this week. “I am advised there is currently active engagement between the State Claims Agency and litigants to determine if mutually agreeable resolutions can be found to their cases.

“I want to see that happen and I encourage the State Claims Agency to continue that approach, as I know it will. Trying to bring this issue to a resolution that works is important.”

The Tánaiste said an engagement process with former Air Corps personnel is “now genuinely under way” and that it should be allowed proceed “to a point where there is an achievable outcome that is acceptable to all parties”.

Gavin Tobin, a former Air Corps technician, estimates there have been nearly 100 deaths that may have involved exposure to dangerous chemicals.

He rejected Mr Harris’s claim that the State is engaging with veterans and accused it of only coming to an agreement in Mr Coll’s case at the 11th hour.

“A haggle on the corridors of the High Court where the State Claims Agency attempts to destroy reputations by calling injured personnel liars is not engagement,” said Mr Tobin who has been campaigning for years on the issue and who also suffers serious health issues.

He accused the Government of “using the might of the State to threaten financial ruin” on plaintiffs if they reject settlement offers.

“Threatening bankruptcy unless we accept settlement is not an engagement process,” he said. “Nobody is engaging with us.”

Read full article by Conor Gallagher at the Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/05/14/state-attempting-to-reach-settlements-with-air-corps-chemical-victims-tanaiste-says/

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Delay – Deny – Die

Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Questions 8/05/25 – Air Corps – Health Issues Due to Hazardous Chemicals

Watch Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD, the Sinn Fein Spokesperson for Defence, ask Tánaiste & Minister for Defence Simon Harris to discuss health and safety measures in the Air Corps for the second time.

Transcript

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

Question:154. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to outline, further to recent Dáil debates, his views on past health and safety measures in the Air Corps, and potential engagements with interested groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18076/25]

Over the course of many years, it seems many Air Corps personnel, primarily young working-class people who took jobs in the maintenance department of the Air Corps, were exposed to very hazardous and dangerous conditions with very few, or effectively no, safety precautions, certainly nothing by way of masks, adequate ventilation and so on. There are huge concerns about the health implications this has for those former personnel, and I will detail that later. I want to specifically ask the Minister if he has engaged with any of those affected or their representative groups and how he intends to ensure their health is safeguarded and supported.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and for constructively discussing it with me at the last parliamentary questions session on defence matters. I have had engagement with my officials to try to tease through some of this since we last discussed this. As I set out on the last occasion this was raised in the House, and I feel obliged to repeat now, any discussion we have or certainly any comments that I make are necessarily restricted by the existence of ongoing litigation that is active before the courts. I want to see a resolution in this regard. I am advised there is currently active engagement between the State Claims Agency and litigants to determine if mutually agreeable resolutions can be found to their cases. I want to see that happen and I encourage the State Claims Agency to continue that approach, as I know it will. Trying to bring this issue to a resolution that works is important.

The ultimate priority for me and for the Defence Forces is the protection of the health and well-being of members of the Defence Forces in carrying out its essential service to the State. It is also important to me that, where possible, litigation of this nature can be concluded on reasonable terms agreeable to all parties to spare people having to take other routes. In the event that this cannot be achieved, the matter will fall to be determined by the courts but, again, I need to remain fully cognisant of my own position in that litigation.

It would be valuable in the engagement process that is now genuinely under way that it be allowed the opportunity to proceed without prejudice, and to see if we can get to a point where there is an achievable outcome that is acceptable to all parties. The question of alleged or potential historic exposure to chemicals in the Air Corps is a matter of considerable importance to me and I maintain an open mind in terms of future discussions and engagement. I have made the point that, in the past, there have been other areas where even if the State did not accept liability, people did try to meet the health needs of those impacted. I have asked that my officials continue to give thought to that issue and to keep me updated on the progress in relation to the State Claims Agency engagement and those further questions that I have asked it. I am saying in the Dáil today that I would like time to be given to that process of engagement that I genuinely believe is now under way.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

I do not accept that for one second. Over many years, this House has dealt with many issues that have been proceeding through the courts and the State rightly did not intervene as between the two different parties or try to disturb the process of the courts. However, that is totally separate from whether the State itself identifies that there is a policy issue and a need for a policy response in relation to a category of people without interfering in the court process. That has happened numerous times, for example, with regard to the Magdalen laundries and different things like that where schemes were set up. There is nothing at this moment in time to prevent the Minister, without interfering in court cases, from engaging with representatives of those who were affected to ask what the State can do in terms of an examination of the health outcomes.

The best example, although it may not be perfect, is the one I gave from Australia, the Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel, SHOAMP, which identified the implications because personnel were facing serious issues.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

Maybe I was not clear but I thought I was saying something similar. There is a process ongoing in relation to the State Claims Agency trying to see if the legal cases can be resolved in a way that is to the satisfaction of both parties. In addition to that, I have also asked my officials, on the basis of the last exchange we had, to give consideration to other actions we may be able to take to try to meet the health needs of people. That is the point I am making. There is an engagement process under way now between the State Claims Agency, which has a delegated function from me, so it acts on behalf of the State and the Government, to see if we can get this to a position where those who have been impacted are satisfied and the State is satisfied too. All I am suggesting today, and I am constraining myself in not wanting to say anything unhelpful or that cuts across that process, is that I want to give it a little bit of time. I am happy to engage constructively on it and I have asked my officials to continue to think further on some of the points I have made to them, many of which have been influenced by the points made to me by the Deputy in this House some six weeks ago.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

I put the Tánaiste on notice that I will be bringing this up again in six weeks and six weeks after that too. I am going to continue to pursue this. I would like it if we could bracket the State Claims Agency part and put that to one side because that is not what I am talking about. That needs to proceed and I hope it works out well, or as well as possible, for those affected.

One of the key points is that not everybody can afford to take the State to court. One of the organisations representing people is the Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, ACCAS.

It does not comprise clinicians, and I am not a clinician, but it has identified 97 untimely deaths, and I believe it has used that phrase deliberately and carefully. It will take a health study to identify what can be connected or what is connected to chemical exposure but it seems to me, given that a direct connection was found in Australia and the Netherlands, these men, as it is almost exclusively men, perhaps with one or two women, were exposed to very dangerous chemicals. A lot of them are really sick. Many of them have died, and their families and friends believe they did so prematurely. This is very serious. I encourage the Tánaiste to engage with the ACCAS and any other relevant people to try to find a policy solution, aside from the courts solution.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire. The differentiation he has made between the two processes is useful. The point he is making to me is that a number of people are not involved in legal proceedings, and they never wish to be involved in legal proceedings for whatever reason, but there are health issues that either have impacted them or are impacting them and their families have concerns about this, and there is a need to examine the health cause and effect, for want of a phrase, and to examine what other jurisdictions have done. This is something I will undertake to do, and I will come back to Deputy Ó Laoghaire on it. I expect he will be asking me about this again.

*****

In his response, the Minister stated that there is an “engagement process that is now genuinely under way.” This is the first time Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors have heard of any such process, casting serious doubt on its legitimacy or transparency.

The State Claims Agency (SCA) appears to be actively engaged in a cover-up aimed at ensuring none of these cases reach court, thereby preventing critical evidence from being examined. The SCA has a vested interest in the Air Corps toxic chemical exposure scandal, having overseen Health & Safety audits of the Air Corps for a decade, audits which ultimately led to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) threatening legal action due to serious deficiencies.

What is truly underway are legal proceedings, court cases that the SCA is vigorously trying to suppress. Their objective appears to be shielding both the Defence Forces and themselves from accountability for past negligence and fraudulent Health & Safety oversight.

To achieve this, the SCA has employed tactics such as issuing Calderbank Offers, an unusual legal mechanism used to intimidate Air Corps veterans with the threat of financial ruin. This allows the State to leverage its vast resources to deter legal challenges, even when those challenges are meritorious.

It is particularly galling that personnel within the SCA and the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) received performance-related bonuses for supposed improvements in Air Corps Health & Safety between 2006 and 2015, a period during which members were being actively exposed to toxic substances.

By claiming that a genuine engagement process is underway, the Minister is either being misled or is deliberately misleading the Oireachtas.

Delay – Deny – Die

Former Air Corps pilot: I suffered discrimination over my gender

A former Air Corps pilot has taken a High Court action over alleged gender discrimination and victimisation.

Amelia McKeown, a qualified pilot and former officer of the Defence Forces, claimed that she was suspended after complaining that she was being treated less favourably than her male colleagues.

Judge Rory Mulcahy said she had been based at Casement Aerodrome in Dublin.

He said she had resigned from her position in June 2015 and that at the time of her resignation she had been suspended from flying duties.

Judge Mulcahy added: ‘The circumstances surrounding that suspension are at the heart of these proceedings.’

He continued: ‘In very brief terms, it appears that the plaintiff had raised an issue with her superior officer in respect of being treated less favourably than her male colleagues.

At that time, it seems, she was the only female Air Corps pilot. Her suspension followed shortly after she raised this issue, and the plaintiff claims that the suspension amounted to gender discrimination and victimisation.

Judge Mulcahy also said that Ms McKeown sought a declaration that the suspension was not valid and that the decision to suspend her from flying duties was arbitrary, beyond the defendants’ legal powers, void and of no effect.

She has claimed that the existence of the suspension on her record has continuing impacts on her ability to earn a living as a pilot.

Ms McKeown alleged that the decision to suspend her from flying duties amounted to victimisation contrary to section 74 of the Employment Equality Act.

She has claimed damages for breaches of her contractual right to equal treatment and for gender discrimination and/ or victimisation.

The judge said the defendants in the case – the Minister for Defence and the State – had denied all her claims.

They said her suspension, or ‘withdrawal’, from flying duties was not motivated by gender or in response to her previous complaint.

The case came before Judge Mulcahy for a pretrial issue to be resolved and no further background concerning Ms McKeown’s suspension was given in his ruling.

He said the defendants asserted the case should have been taken to the Workplace Relations Commission or the Circuit Court, rather than the High Court.

The defendants also sought a preliminary ruling concerning issues relating to her contract of employment and whether it included an implied right to gender equality, he said.

They questioned whether European law gave rise to an independent cause of action against them, for damages for breach of an alleged implied contractual right to gender equality.

They also queried whether her claim, which was initiated in July 2019, was statute barred for having been taken too late, according to the terms of the Employment Equality Act.

Ms McKeown alleged that the preliminary hearing was intended to delay the main proceedings, a claim that the defendants vehemently denied. She said she had consented in October 2024 to the preliminary hearing but only in an attempt to expedite the case.

Judge Mulcahy said it was understandable that Ms McKeown had done so in her anxiety to progress the case.

However, in this case, he said it was unfortunate, as had the preliminary hearing application been contested, it would have been refused by a court.

‘It has not, and never could have, resulted in a saving of time and costs. On the contrary, both have almost certainly been increased,’ he said. ‘The effect of this application has been to delay from coming to trial proceedings which relate to events which happened a decade and more ago’.

Read the full story by Helen Bruce on Extra.ie

https://extra.ie/2025/04/01/news/courts/air-corps-discrimination

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Delay – Deny – Die

110 Untimely* deaths recorded in Irish Air Corps toxic chemical exposure tragedy!

Untimely* deaths of serving & former Irish Air Corps personnel

- - 110 verified deaths have occurred in total since 1980
  - 97 of these deaths have occurred since 2000
  - 71 of these deaths have occurred since 2010

We chose the 1st of January 1980 as an arbitrary date to start counting deaths from. Obvious earlier deaths are much more difficult to discover but either the rate of death is accelerating or we are missing many deaths from previous decades or possibly both.

- - 50 further deaths since a protected disclosure was made to to Simon Coveney as Minister for Defence in December 2015
  - 37 further deaths since a group of survivors met with Micheal Martin & Lisa Chambers in Leinster House on 20th June 2017.
  - 18 further deaths since a copy of the ACCAS list of demands were handed to Simon Harris on the 17th of November 2018 at the Fine Gael National Conference, he was Minister for Health at the time.

Most Significant Causes of Death

Cause	Air Corps Cohort	Ireland
Cancer	41%	TBA
Cardiac	30%	TBA
Suicide	15%	TBA
Male Average Age of Death	53 years	80 years

*We record untimely as dying at or before age 66 (civilian pension age), average age of death is 53 years. We are counting deaths from medical reasons & suicide, we are not counting accidental deaths nor murder.

We are not stating that every single death is directly due to chemical exposure but many personnel who did not handle chemicals directly were unknowingly exposed due to proximity to contaminated work locations.

Dáil Éireann Priorty Questions 26/02/25 – Air Corps – Health Issues Due to Hazardous Chemicals

Watch Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD, the Sinn Fein Spokesperson for Defence, ask Tánaiste & Minister for Defence Simon Harris to discuss health and safety measures in the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Transcript

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

Question: 6. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to discuss health and safety measures in the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6440/25]

The Tánaiste will be aware of a recent settlement for Mr. Gary Coll of €2 million, without liability, after he lodged proceedings regarding exposure to dangerous chemicals while working in the Air Corps. I do not wish to discuss any case before the courts. Many people who are affected do not want to have to go to court. However, as a matter of policy, the Department of Defence has a responsibility to ensure that issues regarding former Defence Forces personnel are addressed, particularly if their health has been compromised. The Tánaiste will be aware of the organisation, Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, ACCAS, as I sent him the group’s demands last night. Will he introduce measures to ensure the mental care of those affected?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

There is often time for argy-bargy in the House but I want to acknowledge the constructive way the Deputy has engaged with me and my office in passing on the views and concerns of ACCAS. I will endeavour to also engage on this constructively in return. The health and well-being of the men and women working in the Air Corps and the wider Defence Forces is of the utmost priority for me, both as Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. I take my responsibility to those who commit to military service to the State very seriously indeed and I know the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces and the Secretary General of my Department are with me on this position.

As Deputy Ó Laoghaire is no doubt aware, a number of cases are before the courts alleging historical exposure to toxic chemicals in the Air Corps. As Members of this House, we must respect, and we are respecting, the separation of powers and the constitutional independence of the courts. I know we are not engaging in commentary or debate that may encroach on this independence or, indeed, prejudice a fair hearing.

As Deputy Ó Laoghaire is aware, the HSA has overall responsibility for the administration and enforcement of health and safety at work in Ireland. It monitors compliance with legislation at the workplace and can take enforcement action up to and including prosecutions. The HSA carried out inspections of the Air Corps in 2016, and in October of that year issued a detailed letter to the Air Corps setting out a list of safety measures which required attention to improve the standards in place. The Air Corps engaged with the HSA and set out in detail the response being implemented. Upon completion of the improvement plan the HSA closed its investigation.

Arising from matters contained in the report of the independent review group, the HSA completed inspections of a number of Defence Force installations at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. This included an inspection of Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell. The Defence Forces prepared an action plan to address the issues outlined in the report. The HSA subsequently conducted follow-up inspections and noted ongoing improvements. The Defence Forces are committed to complying with health and safety legislation and ensuring that the best standards are adhered to. The Deputy will appreciate that as litigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. It is important for me to say that separate and distinct from the ongoing litigation, the Defence Forces tribunal of inquiry will investigate the response to complaints made.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

It is for this reason that I communicated with the Tánaiste last night. It is important that ongoing monitoring is happening but my primary concern relates to the issues that have arisen over the past 20 or 30 years. For many years personnel in the Air Corps, particularly those in the repair shop, were exposed to very dangerous chemicals. Despite this, there were no meaningful precautions in terms of health and safety until very recent years. In the meantime, hundreds of personnel were exposed. According to ACCAS it has identified 97 untimely deaths since 2000 of Air Corps personnel that may potentially be connected. I am not sure whether the Tánaiste saw the “Prime Time” segment on this, in which Paul Flynn was interviewed from his hospital bed. Some of the people affected by this are very ill. Others have passed away. This is a matter of the gravest seriousness. We know this issue is not unique to Ireland. In Australia there was SHOAMP, which was the study of health outcomes in aircraft maintenance personnel. Will the Tánaiste put in place a similar model to assess the health of the former personnel?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I want to reflect on what Deputy Ó Laoghaire has said to me today, and what he conveyed to me by email on behalf of ACCAS last night. I say this without prejudice or conflation with any other ongoing issues, be they issues before the courts or issues that will rightly be examined by the tribunal in terms of how complaints are handled. The point Deputy Ó Laoghaire is making is that regardless of both of these facts, which are important issues, there are people in Ireland clearly presenting with health needs. Deputy Ó Laoghaire is asking me whether more can be done in the here and now to try to recognise this and respond to those health needs and health concerns. On foot of his constructive engagement with me, and the correspondence he has sent to me, I have asked the officials to give consideration to these matters and advise me on it. I am happy to revert to Deputy Ó Laoghaire in due course.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

I appreciate the fact the Tánaiste will reflect on it. He mentioned the tribunal. I would make the point, and the Tánaiste’s comments reflect that he may be aware of this, the tribunal only deals with the handling of complaints rather than the substance of complaints.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

Yes

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Féin)

Therefore, that will not be anywhere near adequate. What ACCAS has demanded is to ensure medical care is provided as well as an assessment to identify what were the implications for health outcomes. There is also a need for a statutory investigation of some form, given the role of the State Claims Agency in failing to alert the HSA of ongoing failings when known. It should go without saying these are personnel who were part of the Defence Forces. They gave their careers and long parts of their lives to serve the State. If their health is now profoundly compromised the State has a responsibility to them. The Tánaiste says he will go away and consider it, and I appreciate this. Will he also meet those affected, ACCAS and any other organisation?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I will take advice on this. Generally I like to engage in politics and in public life. I will take advice on this because I am conscious of being a defendant in legal proceedings. I will check this, and if it is possible to find a mechanism or a way to do this I am certainly open to it. I am very conscious of the sensitivities around this and the realities for people’s health and lives regardless of where blame or liability lies. That is for others to determine. I am conscious of the real living impact that people who are speaking about their cases have very clearly told us and showed us. There have been occasions in this country when, separate and distinct to issues of courts and liability and without prejudice to any of them, addressing the health needs of an individual group is something that can be given consideration. I am trying to look at this constructively, having only taken up this post a few weeks ago. Deputy Ó Laoghaire has engaged constructively with me on this and I thank him for it. I am happy to come back to him on this directly.

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Almost 8 years ago, when he was Minister for Health, Simon Harris met with an ACCAS representative on the margins of the Fine Gael National Conference in November 2018.

At this brief meeting Minister Harris was presented with a physical copy of our list of fair demands and he urged us to contact his office the following Monday to arrange a formal meeting.

This offer of a meeting was immediately reneged upon by his office.

Delay – Deny – Die

Ex-Air Corps members demand ‘truth’ after €2m chemicals case

Despite a promise of justice, Air Corps chemical exposure survivors say the Irish State continues to deny and delay accountability

A former member of the Defence Forces who says his health has been destroyed by exposure to dangerous chemicals during his service has called for the Government to “let the truth come out”.

The State agreed last week to pay €2m to Gary Coll, 51, to settle a legal case taken by him in relation to his claims, without accepting liability.

Mr Coll served as an aviation technician with the Irish Air Corps in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, between 1991 and 1997.

His case is the first of ten which have been taken by former members in relation to what they say was the failure by the State to protect them from exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon, Mr Coll said the State is “hiding behind the State Claims Agency, hiding behind the Courts.”

“The minister stands up and says he can’t look at a health and safety issue because he has to wait for the go-ahead from the State Claims Agency, or the Courts? No. It’s a cop-out to hide behind the court cases,” he said.

Mr Coll says he now suffers from chronic fatigue, has issues with his heart, breathing, and memory, recurring ulcers, and is unable to maintain his core body temperature.

He says during his service there was exposure to chemicals during basic work tasks.

“There was fumes, chemicals being used openly with no extraction systems, within feet of where you worked,” Mr Coll said.

“The place was a mess, the floors were that dirty that people were afraid they would catch fire, there was that much oil and chemicals spilled on the floor of the hangers,” he said.

There was also a tradition of ‘tubbing’ in the Air Corps, whereby individuals would be dunked into tanks of chemicals for various purposes, including as part of initiations or hazing.

He said such tubbing happened to him several times.

https://x.com/RTEUpfront/status/1889094673647440041

Mr Coll joined the Air Corps as a teenager, and represented it in national and international rugby and rowing tournaments in the earlier years of his service.

He said he left his job in his mid-20s due to a slew of medical conditions he experienced while he was still serving, including headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea and nosebleeds.

He now requires the use of a mobility scooter or walking stick to get around.

“I suffered anxiety for years, about 2004 or 2005 I started developing neurological problems, pins and needles, tremors and shakes, it started effecting my balance, my memory’s gone, my short-term memory.”

“In a few months time, I’ll probably forget being here tonight,” Mr Coll said.

Two other former Air Corps members also spoke on the programme. Neither are currently taking legal cases, but both believe exposure to chemicals during their service has significantly damaged their health.

Paul Flynn, 52, spoke to presenter Katie Hannon by video call from his hospital bed. He has been in hospital for 15 months.

He joined the Air Corps in 1988 a week after his 16th birthday. From 1991 to 1998, when he left the service, he worked preparing aircraft parts for painting with primers, topcoats, and spraying.

He said in his early days working in the role there was no protective equipment “at all” provided. Several years later, he said he bought his own air-fed mask, but the line installed to feed it was placed beside a compressor in another room where chemicals were also present.

“I have issues with breathing, sometimes I’m on oxygen… I would like the Government to acknowledge that the chemicals have injured people,” Mr Flynn said, who accepts he cannot definitively link his health issues to chemical exposure.

“The Australian and Dutch government have admitted the same chemicals that we used caused the same injuries we have. I want the Irish Government to admit to that and provide us with whatever care they we need.”

Mr Flynn, aged 52, says his medical team is now advising he move to a nursing home.

https://x.com/RTEUpfront/status/1889090652786286649

Michael Byrne joined the Air Corps having served earlier in the army, he entered to train as a winchman, having passed a fitness selection course.

Unlike Mr Coll and Mr Flynn, he did not serve in the paint shop, but he says he was exposed to chemicals during refuelling of aircraft without PPE.

He said he was splashed with chemicals, and had to breathe in chemicals, as he was required to keep his face close to the refuelling point on the aircrafts.

“There was often – a common occurrence – you’d get an airlock, a backwash of fuel into the eyes, into the mouth, ingested it,” he said.

Within a year of joining the Air Corps after the army, Mr Byrne said, his health began to deteriorate, and he eventually left his job.

“I joined the Air Corps to hang out of helicopters. I joined it for the adventure. When I became sick and I wasn’t able to do the duties anymore – and because under aviation law because I was on high dose steroids, you’re not allowed to fly – I was given jobs like answering phones, I was cleaning toilets at times. So I left, disheartened, and I left.”

“I’ve had two knee replacements, I’m due two hip replacements, I currently have a fractured spine, I’m in a brace at the moment, from just doing menial tasks around the house.”

He said he can not definitively trace his health issues to chemical exposure, but says the timeline is significant.

“I was perfectly healthy, from that point – within a year – I went from running ten miles a day to not being able to run across the road when a car came.”

Mr Byrne is not taking a legal case because he is “just trying to get through day-to-day at the moment, just with pain and managing everything like that.

“I want answers, I’m going downhill, my elbows swell, my knees swell … It was proven in Australia, why can’t they use those templates? At home, most days I don’t move, I can’t get up” he said.

In Australia, in 2009 there was a parliamentary inquiry into similar issues which resulted in payments and healthcare services – including cancer screening – being provided to former Royal Australian Air Force members who were exposed to dangerous chemicals.

Several former Air Corps members who say they have been exposed are calling on the Government to take similar action. In particular, they are calling on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to act.

The Taoiseach and other ministers note that the handling of complaints raised about chemical exposed fall under a Tribunal of Inquiry which was set up after the so-called ‘Women of Honour’, which revealed concerns about bullying, misogyny and sexual assault within the Defence Forces.

In June 2017, Mr Coll and others met Mr Martin, then the leader of the opposition, to outline their concerns and issues related to chemical exposure.

Mr Martin subsequently told the Dáil that three whistleblowers had warned in November 2015 about conditions in the Air Corps maintenance units in Baldonnel, and the degree to which staff were “exposed to very dangerous solvents and chemicals.”

Mr Martin at the time called on the government of the day to commission an independent board of inquiry “into this entire affair and scandal,” summarising the then-government’s response as “deny, deny, deny, resist, resist, resist.”

“The linkage of the particular chemicals to cancer-causing diseases, genetic mutation, neurological conditions and chronic diseases have been well-established”, Mr Martin said at the time.

In a statement to Upfront from Katie Hannon, a spokesperson for Mr Martin said “throughout his time as Taoiseach, and as Minister for Defence, the health and safety of the men and women of the Defence Forces has been a priority.

“There are a number of other personal injury claims currently active before the courts, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to encroach on the independence of the legal process.

“The Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry was established in June 2024 and, as part of its terms of reference, will investigate the response to complaints made regarding the use of hazardous chemicals within Air Corps’ headquarters at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.”

The Department of Defence told Upfront with Katie Hannon: “The Health and Wellbeing of the men and women working in the Air Corps is a priority for the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, as it is for the Defence Forces Management and the Department of Defence.

“The decision to take litigation is a matter for each individual, as is the decision to engage in dialogue to explore and potentially reach a settlement in relation to such matters. In respect of the recently reported case, the parties agreed to settle the matter before the commencement of the trial, on terms agreed by both sides, with the benefit of legal advice at every stage of the process.”

https://www.rte.ie/news/upfront/2025/0211/1495941-ex-air-corps-members-demand-truth-after-2m-chemicals-case

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Delay – Deny – Die

Air Corps chemical poisoning: Betrayal, legal battles, and a decade-long fight for justice

Despite a promise of justice, Air Corps chemical exposure survivors say the Irish State continues to deny and delay accountability

Meeting Micheál Martin on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 is a moment that is etched on Gary Coll’s brain.

As the then leader of the opposition, the now Taoiseach spent the best part of an hour with the former Air Corps aviation technician and five of his colleagues in Leinster House.

They had met him, at his invitation, to plead their case about the need for urgent State intervention into the issues around chemical poisoning in the air corps.

At the time, around 40 Air Corps personnel under the age of 65 were understood to died in the previous 27 years from suicide, cardiovascular events and cancer. Hundreds more were suffering a raft of chemical exposure-related illnesses.

They all mostly maintained aircraft without using PPE, and with little or no training or advice about the toxic chemicals they were either working with or in the vicinity of.

At the end of the meeting Mr Martin, who went on to become Taoiseach in June 2020, vowed to be an advocate to their cause.

Just before the meeting concluded, Gary limped over to him and asked if he would still support air corps chemical exposure survivors when he became Taoiseach.

Gary, who last Wednesday was awarded €2m in a settlement to his High Court claim for damages against the State, recalled:

“He looked me firmly in the eye, and — as he shook my hand — said he would because it was, in his words, ‘the right thing to do’.”

Gary bristles with anger as he recalls the moment.

Read full article by Neil Michael at the Irish Examiner
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-41570956.html

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Delay – Deny – Die

Over a decade on, ill Air Corps technicians still await a fair hearing

The settlement between the State and Gary Coll closes one chapter in the allegations by former Air Corps technicians that they were exposed to dangerous chemicals while working on military vehicles. However, as Joe Leogue outlines, many more cases and issues of disclosure remain unresolved

Ex-Air Corps member Gary Coll from Lifford, Co. Donegal. The State has agreed to pay €2 million to a former Air Corps technician who was allegedly exposed to toxic chemicals which he says caused severe health difficulties. Photo by Joe Dunne

A settlement on the steps of a court usually marks the conclusion of a dispute — however, the reported €2m pay-out to Defence Forces mechanic Gary Coll on Wednesday is but another development in a bitter dispute between the State and former Air Corps technicians that has raged on for over a decade.

Mr Coll settled his High Court action against the State having alleged he was exposed to various dangerous chemicals while he worked at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, Dublin. The settlement was made without an admission of liability.

The State contended it provided a safe workplace at Casement, and did not allow inappropriate work practices there.

The settlement is a milestone in an ongoing saga that is complex, but at its core comes down to two simple, related, questions; did the State fail in its duty to protect scores of Defence Forces staff from the impact of harmful chemicals, and were there attempts to cover this up?

Mr Coll’s case was the first of 10 such legal actions to come to an end, with all 10 cases bearing similar complaints. The first legal claims were lodged with the High Court in 2013, and all litigants worked in repair and service workshops based in Casement Aerodrome.

All 10 say that they suffered chronic conditions including cancer and neurological problems as a direct result of their exposure to the chemicals with which they came into contact as part of their duties when servicing Air Corps aircraft.

In 2017, then in opposition, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was scathing of the report, accusing the government of knowingly appointing a reviewer who, by his own admission, was unable to meet the terms of reference of the investigation.

“It’s farcical. It seems to me there are no records of compliance with health regulations, which is very, very serious because in their absence one has to conclude that the probability is they were not complied with,” he said.

“The government needs to establish a forensic examination into this,” Mr Martin added.

“I don’t think it is acceptable to wait for court cases against the State to conclude as there is no guarantee these legal proceedings will establish what happened in the past.”

That line has proven particularly prescient eight years later. The settlement of Mr Coll’s case this week means that no evidence was heard. Nothing has yet established what has happened in the past.

This matters to the former Air Corps mechanics for many reasons. Chief among these is that since 2018 the government rejected opposition calls for a healthcare programme for these workers — similar to the Australian model — on the basis that the courts were the place to establish liability.

Read full article by Joe Leogue at the Irish Examiner
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-41569999.html

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Delay – Deny – Die

Air Corps grounds aircraft after safety audit raises concerns over bolt tightening

It is understood an internal safety audit uncovered issues that rendered the planes unsuitable for flying until each aircraft had undergone extensive checks.

The Air Corps has grounded a number of planes over safety concerns about how the nuts and bolts holding them together are tightened, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

It is understood an internal safety audit uncovered issues that rendered the planes unsuitable for flying until each aircraft had undergone extensive checks.

The main concerns are understood to centre around the type of tools used to tighten the planes’ bolts, and the application of what is known as “proper torque”.

This is the specified tightening force needed to apply to an aircraft’s nuts and bolts and which has a force with a specific range prescribed in that particular aircraft’s maintenance manual.

If specially calibrated torque wrenches are not used to tighten nuts and bolts every time, this can lead to problems — including propellers falling off and internal engine damage.

The General Officer Commanding of the Air Corps Brigadier General Rory O’Connor is understood to have summoned all Air Corps engineers officers to meet him about the results of the audit.

The meeting, which was held at the Air Corps base at Baldonnel during the week, is understood to have led to a number of crews being “berated” over safety standards.

“Everyone in Baldonnel is talking about the audit, and the fact that some of the tools used on these very expensive aircraft were bought from a supermarket.”

The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lieutenant General Seán Clancy has been briefed on the issue and it is understood there is now an investigation underway about what happened and why.

Read the full article by Neil Michael at the Irish Examiner
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41570743.html

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