Families are 'living in abject poverty': Former commandant calls on Defence Minister to resign

The former deputy commander of the elite Irish special forces says the Minister with responsibility for Defence and his senior civil servants should resign because they are running the country's military into the ground.

Cathal Berry said he had resigned after 23 years' service in the Defence Forces, including six years as deputy head of the Army Ranger Wing (ARW), so he could speak up on behalf of his men, as many of them and their families were "living in abject poverty".

Serving soldiers are not allowed to speak out and Mr Berry said this "gagging" suited Department of Defence mandarins.

The former commandant said morale was on the floor because the Defence Forces were being dismantled by civil servants who had absolutely no military background and claimed that Minister Paul Kehoe was completely out of his depth.

He said he loved his job and would readily rejoin the Army when the current problems being experienced across the Defence Forces were properly addressed.

Mr Berry added that he wasn't afraid to speak out and "wasn't scared" by what may happen to him.

He said:

Troops expect officers to talk on their behalf. The department heads have to go.

He added that while he had no issues with Mr Kehoe on a personal level, he described the minister as "an empty suit" who was "full of platitudes and spin."

Mr Berry maintained this was widely known throughout the Defence Forces and it was akin to "the Emperor has no clothes."

He criticised the department for handing back around €20m a year from their budget, rather than investing it in improving pay and conditions for serving personnel.

"They're doing this to look good in front of their bosses. There needs to be full access for the Defence Forces (representative associations) to national pay talks," Mr Berry said.

He said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris had responsibility for his budget, but it was civil servants who controlled the budget for the Defence Forces, instead of Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

Mr Berry resigned from the Defence Forces on May 3 last, allowing him to attend a major protest mounted by veterans and the lobby group Wives & Partners of the Defence Forces, which took place in Cork the following day.

Commandant Conor King, general secretary of the officers representative association RACO, said nearly 90% of Defences Forces personnel earn below the average public sector wage according to Central Statistics Office figures.

"We are the most trusted public service organisation at 82% according to the Institute of Public Administration; far in excess of the garda rating, but they are by far the highest paid public servants and we are the lowest," Comdt King said.

He added that 79% of officers who have joined since 2013 have declared their intention to leave well in advance of their retirement age, due to an inadequate pension provision.

Well over 3,100 personnel left the Defence Forces in the last five years, which equates to almost 35% of the average strength (of the entire Defence Forces) for those years.

Comdt King said military personnel voluntarily give up many civil liberties.

"They willingly put themselves in danger; they have no right to strike or unionise; all they expect is that they are fairly treated by their employers in the Department of Defence. They should be ensuring that the Defence Forces are looked after, as their counterparts in the UK Ministry of Defence do," the senior officer said.

He's expected to comment further on these issues when he addresses the Oireachtas Committee on Defence. A comment has been sought from the Minister's office.