Naval heroes who saved refugees got paid €4.15 per hour

Sailors in the Irish naval service working on humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean got as little as €4.15 per hour after-tax for their rescue efforts.

A representative association described the earnings as “a national scandal”.

PDforra, which represents enlisted men in the Defence Forces — said it had completed a list of earnings of all the 250 members who had served on last year’s mission, and the breakdown on hourly earnings, including special allowances.