Up to 80 soldiers will be ‘forced’ to resign

Up to 80 soldiers currently based at Collins Barracks, Cork, will have to resign or relocate to Limerick or Kilkenny under Defence Forces’ rationalisation plans, it has been claimed.

Gerry Rooney, general secretary of PDforra, the body which represents rank- and-file members, said such a move could place costs of €5,000 on already hard- pressed soldiers.

The army is reducing its brigade strength from three to two and, as part of that, is axing the 4th Infantry Battalion which is based in Cork.

Mr Rooney said while soldiers in Dublin and Athlone will be affected by the rationalisation, Collins Barracks will bear the lion’s share of the loss of the 250- strong infantry battalion.

He estimated a number of those troops could be retrained to take up vacancies in the engineering and artillery corps in Cork.

He said: “You’ll also find some who will move to other barracks because of promotions and others, who will volunteer for relocation, because Kilkenny or Limerick might be nearer to their homes. But I estimate that up to 80 people will have to make the decision to travel to these barracks or leave the army.”

He said the added cost of travelling long distances to work could make it unviable for some to remain in the job.

“I think a good number of people will leave the job. It’s a sort of forced redundancy,” Mr Rooney said.

PDforra president Willie Webb, yesterday told his organisation’s annual conference in Kilkenny that people had been consumed by doubt and uncertainty as to whether they will have jobs at all, or if they may have to commute considerable distances and bare the additional financial impact that this brings.

“As president of PDforra, I am left with no option but to conclude that there are certain elements of Government and Civil Service who are constantly trying to bring about the total destruction of the Defence Forces by stealth, through either the closure of barracks or the changing of the brigade structure,” Mr Webb said.

“The disbanding of some units, the amalgamation of other units, the purpose of which has no rationale and makes no sense.

“In these cash-strapped times it produces absolutely no financial benefit whatsoever to the exchequer and will, without doubt, impose an additional financial burden on the State both in the short and long term,” the PDforra president said.

He also claimed that members of the Naval Service, based in Haulbowline, can be earning less than the National Minimum Wage during long patrol periods.

“In order to provide enough personnel to meet the commitments of ship-to-shore rotation, urgent recruitment is needed, and should be continued on an ongoing basis,” Mr Webb said.