Opposition calls for upgraded air defences

CASH must be injected in to the State’s “completely out of date” air defences, say opposition politicians as a report to be published today confirms spending on defence equipment dropped sharply last year.

The Defence Forces annual report will give a detailed breakdown on spending, including the €33 million budget on defence equipment.

The spend last year represents a drop of €8m on the previous year but was in line with the 2004 budget.