'Morale at all-time-low' in 'broken' Defence Forces, Cork parade hears

Retired Lieut Col Dan Harvey said the Defence Forces is "broken" and "in crisis" with "morale at an all-time low," because they are "overlooked and undervalued, overworked, underpaid, over-stretched and undermanned."

The government has been accused of running down the Defence Forces to such an alarming extent that, if there was a major security crisis, they have left the country "woefully unprepared, dramatically undefended, and shamefully exposed."

That's according to a retired Lieutenant Colonel who provided the keynote address at a protest in Cork organised by former members of the Defence Forces and the lobby group WPDF (Wives & Partners of the Defence Forces).