The president of the Defence Forces representative body Pdforra has said conditions for members are so bad that 80 naval personnel are living on boats, some of which were deemed to be unsuitable for accommodation when they were commissioned 35 years ago. However, accommodation was just one of a number of issues, including pay, promotion and medical care, which he said must be addressed to stem the outflow of key personnel from the Defence Forces generally. Numbers in the Defence Forces have recently fallen by more than 600 to some 8,500, which he said was “well below the numbers required” to execute their tasks efficiently and safely. At present there is a severe lack of a policy to stem the tide of highly skilled people leaving the Defence Forces,” he said. He said the Naval Service was at its lowest strength for 10 years.

Source: The Irish Times October 02, 2019 20:48 UTC