Members of the Irish Defence Forces training in the Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow, last month
The Irish Examiner reports:
It has been claimed hundreds of soldiers, sailors and Air Corps staff have spent thousands of euro of their own money to get out of the Defence Forces.
PDFORRA, the organisation which represents staff, says that since January more than 170 personnel have paid as much as €40,000 each to be relieved of their duties.
The association says poor levels of pay is the main reason for members wanting to leave.
Earlier: A Limerick A Day
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Anyone paying €40k to get out is walking into a very well paid job, most of the money is to repay the taxpayer for 3rd level education provided by the Army on the basis that you don’t feck off at the end of the course.
Fake news.
+40,000
X2
My chosen profession certainly doesn’t pay too generously, I could definitely do with a few extra quid. It pains me slightly to watch some of my pals make a mint working in finance in pretty cushty jobs but I chose to do what I do. I struggle to find much sympathy for some sectors demanding more pay or to bailed out, farming and the defense forces topping the list at the moment. Tough jobs, people we need no doubt but neither are indentured labour. What other careers can you demand more money or subsidy if you’re not doing too well, particularly farming, a business like any venture at the end of the day. Obviously we’ll look after the property developers and bankers but that goes without saying.
I don’t know anything about this particular pay claim of PDFORRA, but look at it this way, Bort, if you ARE unhappy with your pay, you can appeal to your employer for more money, better conditions, whatever your particular gripe may be.
Who’s the employer of the defence forces? It’s the government/state, and this is how they ask for a pay rise. There’s no one else they can ask except the state through their representative organisation as they are precluded from asking directly themselves.
I heard the wife of a soldier on Morning Ireland this morning. They both work full time – two children so childcare costs – and can no longer afford the rent in Kildare. That’s not right.
http://www.military.ie/careers/rates-of-pay/