A chara, – The Peace and Neutrality Alliance supports the need to improve the structures, defence capabilities and funding of the Defence Forces, alongside the need to improve pay and conditions of employment of all staff members and that their representatives’ organisations be permitted to affiliate to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The Commission on the Defence Forces commissioned by Minister for Defence Simon Coveney does not cover the huge public support for Irish neutrality, concerns about the Pesco Agreement and an ever-increasing EU and Nato militarism, issues highlighted in several submissions that can be viewed on the commission’s website.
The role of the Defence Forces is and always has been the defence of Irish territory and its people, with a key secondary role being international UN peacekeeping. Our Naval Service has an enormously important role to play in maritime and fisheries protection, and our Air Corps has a central role in search and rescue.
The reality, however, is there is no evidence whatsoever that Martians, the British, the US, Russia, China, or any other state intends to invade, conquer, and occupy Ireland to justify the massive increase in military expenditure now proposed. Do we really need a massive increase in spending on military hardware, on “air combat interceptors” or on a “multi-role vessel” for the Naval Service, especially at a time when we have a major housing problem, increasing energy costs, together with inflation? – Yours, etc,
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ROGER COLE,
Chairman,
Peace and
Neutrality Alliance,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.