‘Bizarre’ row over soldier’s allowance lasted 16 years

An adjudicator for the Defence Forces has claimed it was “bizarre” that a dispute over allowances, paid to a soldier on a Department of Defence overseas training course, should have lasted 16 years.

The adjudicator, Daniel Murphy expressed disbelief that he was being asked to determine a dispute between the Department of Defence and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco) that dated from 2001 and, furthermore, related to just one individual.

The long-running row between the parties revolved around the expenses allowed to a commandant who attended a training course over 12 months at a military college in Paris between 2001 and 2002.