Seven soldiers have complained they were sexually assaulted or harassed by other soldiers in the past three years, figures released to the Sunday Tribune have revealed.

Two of these soldiers have been found guilty "under military law and punished" while a garda investigation is underway into another alleged sexual attack.

The seven complaints of sexual assault and harassment were "fully investigated. In four cases the allegations were not proven. Two cases were proven and the two persons involved were found guilty under military law and punished. The third case is ongoing and details cannot be furnished," said the Defence Forces.

The information was released under the Freedom of Information Act.

A government-ordered inquiry into harassment within the Defence Forces – culminating in the External Advisory Committee report – was set up in 2002. A woman soldier anonymously informed the inquiry that she had been raped by another soldier but was too afraid to report the incident. Two other women soldiers and a male colleague also told the inquiry team they had been the subject of attempted rape.

The government report found that 30% of women soldiers, who make up only 4% of the Defence Forces, had experienced sexual harassment and that victims of harassment and bullying felt they could not achieve a remedy through the Defence Forces' complaints system.

Army poster girl and former Miss Ireland contestant Second Lieutenant Collette McBarron made a complaint of sexual assault against another soldier in 2007 that was found unwarranted following an investigation.