Defence Forces told to continue paying border allowance

THE Defence Forces have been told to continue paying out about €5 million to staff working on the border even though a number of barracks there have closed and the threat of violence has greatly diminished.

More than 1,000 Defence Forces personnel, including officers, are paid €101 per week in border duty allowance, even though a large number of them have been relocated since their barracks were closed.

The allowance was set up in 1969 because duty in border posts involved extra responsibility, poor accommodation and disruption to personnel separated from their families. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General last year criticised the allowance, saying its payment should be stopped given that violence in the North had been stemmed.