Defence Minister Paul Kehoe has been criticised as being “asleep at the wheel” after admitting he was not “briefed in advance” over the Navy staff shortages “fiasco”, which led to two vessels being docked.

"To be honest I don't think I will be going back, ever."

A Defence Forces support group is calling on the Government to give more respect to personnel.

Standing in for the Tánaiste at Leaders’ Questions, the Social Protection Minister said the Government believes the Mercosur deal as it stands is “disappointing” but it is a long way from being a finalised legal document.

Our report today on the number of sailors leaving the Naval Service paints a grim picture for the future of Ireland’s maritime armed service.

Gardaí have already taken up security duties at Shannon ahead of a possible visit by US President Donald Trump next month.

Sinn Féin has lashed out at Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael claiming neither party can be trusted on Irish neutrality.

130 members of the Defence Forces, who were due to return home today will be back in Ireland on Sunday.

130 members of the Defence Forces are, for the second time in a year, unable to return home to their families tomorrow.

Brexit poses an “existential” threat to the security of Ireland and the peace process, a leading Irish academic has warned.

Jeremy Corbyn said it is right that members of the Armed Forces are held to account for incidents during the Troubles after a British soldier was charged with murder over Bloody Sunday.

Catch up on all the headlines this morning...

Asylum seekers will soon be allowed to work, but face cuts to their allowances and extra accommodation costs according to their income levels.

Gardaí investigating the disappearance of 45-year-old Tina Satchwell say they are following new lines of inquiry after a woodland search was stood down.

Cadaver dogs which have been used in searches for the ‘Disappeared’ in the North have been deployed as part of the massive Tina Satchwell search operation.

The partners of Defence Forces members are holding a 24-hour vigil outside Leinster House.

At the age of 17, Brian Prendergast followed a long family tradition of finding a career in music through the army. He’s now the Cork-based conductor of one of the defence forces’ best bands, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

Iraqi forces backed by the US-led coalition have liberated the last town in the country held by the Islamic State group, according to defence officials.

There were motional scenes at Casement Aerodrome in West Dublin this afternoon as 100 members of the Defence Forces arrived home.

The Naval Service will make history on October 6 when it joins an EU-led taskforce which is taking a more aggressive role against people-smugglers and gun-runners operating in war-torn Libya, including IS fighters.

There are “substantial” managerial and cultural problems in the Garda Síochána — but efforts to address them should not “completely undermine” the capability of the organisation to fulfil its function, former justice minister Alan Shatter has said.

A security analyst believes the Defence Forces will find it difficult to manage and police a ‘hard’ border post-Brexit.

High turnover, low morale, and low pay are among the complaints of members of the Defence Forces who are to have their case put to the defence minister this week.

Three test cases are being brought before the High Court in an attempt to force the Government to ensure that people serving in the Defence Forces can carry over all their annual leave entitlements from one year to the next.

The selective leaking of the O’Higgins report and the attempt to sully the character of Garda Maurice McCabe are typical examples of whistleblower reprisal, a backlash against the character, reputation, and livelihood of those who speak out, says Tom Clonan

An independent report into allegations that Air Corps inspectors were not qualified to sign off on repairs on the force’s aircraft has found there was “nothing of substance” to affect operations — despite “procedural and documentation deficiencies and errors”.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Iraqi forces yesterday took control of the government complex in central Ramadi, the last Islamic State stronghold in the western city, a military spokesman said.

The flooding of 14 houses in Limerick last Saturday night when a canal burst its banks has sparked a war of words between Limerick City and County Council and Waterways Ireland.

One in 10 officers has resigned from the Defence Forces in the past two years after becoming disillusioned with the job.

The review of Channel 4’s new television programme SAS Who Dares Wins which was carried on your website on Wednesday, October 19, appears to be completely oblivious to the fact that this is a so-called “game show” based around a regiment of the British army that is responsible for the deaths of Irish citizens.

LÉ Samuel Beckett will depart her base in Haulbowline, Co Cork, this morning to take over refugee rescue missions in the Mediterranean from LÉ Niamh.

A lament to Thomas Kent, the displaying of an anchor from gun-running ship SS Aud, and re-enactments of marching Volunteers are among more than 300 events and projects being planned in Cork for next year’s 1916 centenary commemorations.

The Taliban took control of a large police base in a remote part of northeastern Afghanistan after 100 police and border guards joined the insurgents following three days of fighting, security officials said.

A military operation has been launched to drive Islamic State out of the western Anbar province of Iraq, where the extremists captured the provincial capital Ramadi earlier this month.

Government cutbacks make it unlikely the Defence Forces and the gardaí could prevent an outbreak of foot- and-mouth, swine flu, or avian flu spreading from the North into the Republic, according to a former senior army officer.

The US-led coalition has begun surveillance flights over the Islamic State-held city of Tikrit and offering intelligence to the Iraqi forces trying to take it, an official has revealed.