Government should pay defence personnel properly but increasing military spending by up €2 billion “totally unacceptable”
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has said, in reaction to the Commission on the Defence Forces report, published today, that this was the latest attempt to soften public opinion towards further eroding Irish neutrality.
He said that the move and the comments by Minister Coveney were directly linked to further aligning Ireland with NATO, cementing our place in PESCO and would bring us closer to a European army- something which People Before Profit has been warning against for many years.
He said that the proposal to increase military spending by up to €2 billion was “totally unacceptable”. Even more so when we have a housing and health service waiting list crisis.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said there was an “urgent need” to address the poverty levels of pay suffered by defence personnel, which leads many to rely on income supplements and is the reason there is an enormous recruitment and retention crisis across the whole force.
He said: “The recommendations in this report, and the comments of Minister Coveney, are directly linked to an agenda to bring Ireland closer to NATO, further cement our place in PESCO and would bring the prospect of Ireland’s participation in a European army closer to reality. This would mean the further erosion of Irish neutrality.
“The proposed increase of up to €2 billion in military spending is totally unacceptable.
“The comments in the report relating to low pay, lack of TU representation and the recruitment and retention crisis are to be welcomed. Many people working in the defence forces are having to rely on income supports to get by and face the same house price, rents and cost of living that the rest of us do. Rather than investing in increased militarisation, we should invest in providing decent pay and conditions for the defence personnel.”
