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

Male naval personnel were forced to change on the side of a road and female colleagues in a mini-bus with no curtains before Sunday’s national commemoration events after a room set aside for them was allegedly used for a “VIP reception”.

The Government has been accused of running down the Defence Forces to such an extent that if there was a major security crisis, the country has been left “woefully unprepared, dramatically undefended, and shamefully exposed.”

Retired Lieut Col Dan Harvey said the Defence Forces is "broken" and "in crisis" with "morale at an all-time low," because they are "overlooked and undervalued, overworked, underpaid, over-stretched and undermanned."

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