A number of former officers of the Irish Defence Forces (including Dorcha Lee and Ray Cawley) have very justifiably criticised the present depleted condition of our Defence Forces and the manner that recent governments have treated our serving soldiers, and I agree with their concerns.

As a former classmate and colleague of Dorcha Lee, I subscribe fully to the issues he raised concerning the abysmal state of the Defence Forces of this country — ‘Call to halt depletion of Defence Forces‘ (Irish Examiner, May 27). It gladdened me to also read the editorial comment of this newspaper.

Cork Samaritans is launching a recruitment drive to ensure the only 24-hour branch outside of Dublin continues to operate around the clock.