Drugs are flowing into the country as our borders can’t be properly patrolled. It is one of the myriad ways we are suffering due to the under-resourced Defence Forces, writes Defence Correspondent Sean O’Riordan

The Naval Service is so under-resourced that there are fears it won’t be able to combat maritime drug shipments while at the same time adequately patrolling EU fishery waters post-Brexit.

Since 2009, an agreement has been in place to pay all post-1995 military officers on full PRSI who are forcibly retired on age grounds at age 58 a supplementary pension (as long as the pensioner is not, before age 65, in insurable employment).

General Secretary of RACO, Commandant Conor King, said that even some short-term measures promised in the Government's 'High Level Implementation Plan' are "significantly behind schedule"

The association representing over 1,000 Defence Forces officers claims members are leaving because they are being sought out by other areas of the public sector.

The country's military officers have warned their patience is running thin and said if any other organisation had been treated as badly as the Defence Forces they would have taken industrial action by now.

Defence Forces representative associations are starting to win a battle over implementing the EU Working Time Directive in their ranks.

There is a strong likelihood the country’s military officers will reject the Public Service Pay Commission’s (PSPC) “paltry set of recommendations for increased allowances” unless the Government acts swiftly to address key issues highlighted by the association which represents them.

A pay review is to be undertaken in the next three months aimed at addressing the exodus of highly trained engineers and technicians in the Defence Forces, especially in the Naval Service.

Small increases in some allowances are unlikely to stem the ongoing exodus from the Defence Forces, the association representing military officers has said.

The two representative associations for the Defence Forces are set to have their national executive meeting within days to consider the fall-out from the Public Service Pay Commission (PSPC) report.

More than 1,400 officers and personnel have left the military in the past year, the vast majority of them voluntarily, according to the association representing defence forces officers.

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.

Moving to year-round recruitment won’t solve the ever-decreasing numbers in the Defence Forces and it’s being claimed it’s akin to “rearranging the deckchairs on a still sinking Titanic.”

The Defence Forces are facing a mounting crisis in their officer ranks after a survey revealed 79% of those inducted since 2013 are planning to quit ahead of mandatory retirement, because they are on reduced pension terms compared to other public servants.

Officers in the Defence Forces feel betrayed by their employers, because military personnel were left out of “side deals” given to gardaí, prison officers, and firefighters as part of the latest Lansdowne Road pay agreements.

The progressive Catchy Lass gets the nap to land the Dual Racing Sunday 17th August Handicap at Dundalk tonight.

The Denis Hogan-trained Inis Meain, bought by Barry Connell as a hurdler, booked his ticket to Royal Ascot when landing the listed Martin Molony Stakes, feature of yesterday’s action in Limerick.

Caponata, an impressive winner on her debut at the corresponding meeting last year, made her stakes-race breakthrough when landing the listed Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes at Gowran Park yesterday.

Indian Chief emerged as the best prospect from last night’s Students Day action in Leopardstown, justifying odds-on favouritism in the Bulmers Live At Leopardstown Summer Racedays Maiden and being earmarked as a possible contender for the Dante Stakes in York.

Armagh 0-10 Mayo 0-7

COLLIDING with a strong and forceful Armagh outfit proved fatal to Kerry’s 2009 minor football ambitions in yesterday’s All-Ireland MFC semi-final at Croke Park.

Armagh 2-10 Kerry 0-10

Armagh 2-8 Tyrone 1-9