Jaymie, they serve our country in every way that is asked of them. Bomb disposals….flood relief…..fisheries protection…search and rescue…..they are Ireland’s contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the wider international community.

Its not a simple job. Its not always a safe job. Unlike your bus driver example…they don’t get paid as well and they certainly never have the option to go on strike when the feel like it.

There’s better ways than fighting guns with guns. Why don’t they help get the US military out of Shannon for starters?

I liked it better when we were a neutral country … But the fact remains our soldiers are there so their safety should be priority even if you don’t agree with their deployment

My priority would be bringing them home.

First of all the US are using Shannon with the permission of Shannon airport and the government so why would the army step in. Second I’m sure if you went to the leb, Congo or Syria and asked them nicely to stop fighting they would. Remember to say please tho.

Kevin
I agree but the fact remains the same

Cormac are you implying that the Irish defense forces ended fighting in both Lebanon and Congo and are going to do the same in Syria? Their deployment is pointless. I am well aware of the facts about Shannon however if the Irish defense forces wish to remain effective they should stop the murderers in Shannon from refueling which equates to us aiding one side which 1) looses us our neutrality and 2) means we have taken a side which is a side I for one do not wish to take.

I read my comment twice and no where in it did I say they stopped the fighting. So are you saying that the army should go against the government and Stop the US landing in Shannon.

So you can get your 8 hours sleep every night boy….. Not have to worry what you wake up too….

Im saying the army works for the government so its clearly the governments duty to reintroduce our neutrality. Do you not want Ireland to be neutral or do you prefer to side with America?

Fair play to them ye. I can respect them for having the discipline necessary to do the job. They never really get a chance to shine though. I doubt have much faith in the UN. They seem useless and ineffectual.

*typo “dont”

Shannon is like an A.T.M for the country… U.S keeps this country running, you should thank the yanks every waking moment because if you for one moment thing the irish government are running it, you are sadly deluded… Down on your knees now boy…

This is an article bout the army. Not the governments stance on neutrality. The government has decided to allow the US land. Army can’t do anything bout it.

Now cormac
The army could do plenty about the govt . But that’s a Pandora’s box I don’t think any of us wants to see opened

Cormac you can’t distance the article from the Shannon debate when you are arguing it yourself. I don’t see how the defence forces give me 8 hours sleep each night when they’ve never defended me from any threat or act of invasion

You must be related to our two faced pres m d Higgins the ring leader that helped start the SHANNON protests and try close the airport and then after becoming pressed meets Obama with a big smirk on his face

We’ll said

Well Jaymie, they’re showing the world that the rest of us aren’t all begrudging whingers like yourself.

They have and still defend the country from internal forces…. Are you sleep walking through life….

They are serving as part of a UN peacekeeping mission, there to ensure that Syria and Israel play nice. How that impedes our neutrality, I don’t know.

Kevin, if someone came at you with a gun what would you do?

We were never “a neutral country”. We never signed The Hague Convention on Neurrality. We never even acted like a neutral country

nice one king

@Kevin Higgins, would you prefer we turn our backs on the women and children who through the intervention of The United Nations have asked us to provide security and protection. On the subject of neutrality, just when was the last time we were classed as a neutral state? Have you got even the foggiest idea of any of the missions we are involved in? You are entitled to your opinion, that’s a choice many people in the countries my colleagues and I serve in don’t have. Good day to you, may you sleep soundly in your bed at night while men and women step up to the mark and protect the vulnerable worldwide.

Kevin, you are a extremely naïve person with your comments on here. Read up on the history of the Irish army in the Lebanon. We got a lot of respect there. Every little bit counts!

The army hours are 8 to 5 Monday to Thursday.on Friday they finish at 3.unless they are on 24hr duty in the barracks which they get the day after off.thats their standard hours unless they are training for something

Jimmy I don’t see to many Irish solders sent into hostile conditions

You do not get a “day off” for doing duty Jaymie. If you do a 24hr duty you begin at 8.15 in the morning and don’t finish until 9.15 the following day. After working from midnight until 9.15 you normally get the remainder of that day off. Having already worked over 9 hrs this can hardly be seen as a day off.

It is hardly well paid also. The allowance for that duty is less than €50 before tax. It does not matter if it’s a weekend or not.

Also many soldiers families are entitled to medical cards and FIS payment as the pay is so poor.

Your comments are insulting to the personnel who do a difficult job so you can remain safe.

Army hours are 24/7 from the time you join to the day you leave…. No over time… You on the other hand if not collect social welfare are 8/5 …

Jimmy.
I don’t see to many going to Santa ponsa either.

Why don’t you take a holiday in South Lebanon Syria Lybia Eritrea Chad. See what kind of travel insurance you’ll be offered.

Remain safe from what David?

Jimmy, depends where you’re a bus driver – in some parts of Dublin you’d definitely be dodging missiles!

He (jamie) obviously didn’t make the cut for the DF, serious chip on his shoulders

Paddy, do you read the news much? Seems like at least once a week a viable explosive device surfaces somewhere in the country. Who do you think deals with those? There’s also flood defence, natural disaster response, search and rescue, and countless other services provided for the Irish people by our forces.

You’ve obviously never been on the 27 or the 40 after 7pm most nights…

That was for Jimmy.

Could you please back up that comment Jaymie because it is completely at odds with the hours in the army which I am familiar with????

Could you please back up that comment Jaymie because it is completely at odds with the hours in the army which I am familiar with????

Jaymie you are talking nonsense, easy to know you are unfamiliar with what you are talking about

Very well paid? I don’t think so! Get your facts right!

I’ve to mates in the army everyday the army provides a bus from them to travel from recently closed Cavan to athlone and they can be seen getting off the bus at 6pm after their hour or so commute.and you can’t see them waiting for the bus in the mornings.also when they are over seas they are very well paid they get paid by the Irish army and by the UN so they are getting paid double their wages.which IMO that’s well paid

*two

It’s alright everyone, Jaymie has two mates in this army, so he’s clearly an expert on the matter.

So what your saying is your two friends start at about 7.30 when they’re picked up at their place of employment (before it closed through no fault of theirs) and finish at 6.00. That’s approx 10.5 hrs a day not counting their duties. If they do 2 duties a month with one a weekend that then adds another possible 48 hrs to their monthly hours. This is not counting any other training or details.

I’m sure there are many easier ways to make more money.

The overseas allowance has to be attractive or nobody would do it. At the end of the day it is a very high risk environment. People won’t volunteer for nothing.

I tell you what Jaymie. They’re recruiting at the moment. Why don’t you put your name forward if you think it such a great paid and easy job.

See how you feel about it after a couple of years if you make it past the first six months.

With respect …. We will now call him captain…

David you obviously work in the public sector cos no one in the private sector gets paid for their commute you live in a dream world if you get paid for your commute.

I do not get paid for my commute to work. But if they were employed I a factory and that factory moved an hour down the road the employes would be entitled to disturbance money or redundancy. These soldiers do not get any of this. Instead they get transport from their previous place of employment to their new place of employment for six months only.

But like I said. They’re now recruiting so you too can get a job like this.

David it’s a Saturday night go and have a beer chill out.I wouldn’t be suited to the army career.i like to have something to show for my days work.

Jaymie, what happened to you that resulted in such a poisoned attitude to our defence forces?

It’s that my taxes are paying their wages and I see the handy time they have.

I know guys that are still getting paid a border allowance that was in place during the troubles.its an extra 70 euro a week cos they supposedly have to patrol the border and it can’t be taken away from them due to a clause in their contract

Jaymie, you’ve displayed repeatedly on this article that you haven’t a monkey’s notion about what the army is like, it’s functions, or how it operates. This ‘handy time’ is a fantasy of your’s.

An extra 70 a week? Who cares? That’s nothing. If you’re so worried about where your tax dollars go, why are you not mouthing off about overpaid public sector middle management, overpaid consultants, or any of the other cash sinks in this country?

Given that dissidents are still active in some parts of the country, and the importance of a military presence on the border, it’s appropriate.

Enlighten me what do the army do every week?and what do the ones on the border do to deserve this border allowance.we ain’t exactly been threatened by the north.incase you haven’t noticed the republicans won’t attack the republic

*Sigh*
I already did, see my above post. I’ll elaborate further though.

Bomb disposal, flood protection, natural disaster response, search and rescue, security (such as at Portlaoise Prison), cash-in-transit escorting, armed prison transport, air ambulance provision, and secure air transport for ministers are just some of the services provided. There’s even some weird ones, like dealing with oil pollution in Irish waters.

Considering that the border has, since it’s inception, been witness to extensive paramilitary activity, it’s appropriate. Especially considering how small the bonus is. Dissidents run guns and bombs across the border, both ways. Even the odd body. A military presence on our only international border is appropriate.

And republicans are not the only game in town. Remember the Monaghan and Dublin bombings?

What did the army do to hurt you, Jaymie? That chip on your shoulder must be really heavy.

I get paid to commute and I am in the private sector – but I was also in the military. So you are wrong again… Perhaps just turn your computer off… Go back to playing FIFA or something…..

I was in the army for 5 years. The craic was great but it was pure shite

Keith nice one from an ex army pet

Pet?

Well paid Irish soldiers I don’t know any. There are thousands of them on social welfare payments because their pay is a disgrace and now hundreds of them are being dumped so our over paid politicians can keep their money. Disgraceful

The only people who consider it disputed is the occupiers. To everyone else, and international law, it is an occupation and breach of the Geneva convention.

If it was not disputed the U.N. would not be there in the first place. Of course it is a disputed land.

Go get a life and some manners.

Go do some research on the issue, or at least read the article, before posting half baked assumptions, Karen. Like Jason said, this has nothing to do with the civil war. This is a peacekeeping mission, the primary objective of which is to prevent conflict between Syria and Israel.

give it over lads,how could ANYTHING to do with syria currently and in a military aspect have nothing to do with the fighting there ??

and more specifically it is because the area has become too dangerous and the austrians pulled out and the irish army moved in,guess why it became too dangerous ???

maybe ye should do some research yer selves

What’s your point? Karen’s post was clearly waffle.

They are based there to prevent conflict in the demilitarised zone between Syria and Israel. A peacekeeping force has been stationed there since before the outbreak of the war. They are not there to influence the course of the war in any way, as Karen argued. That the demilitarised zone has become more dangerous since the war began is irrelevant, the UN peacekeepers would be there anyway.

could you really not understand what i said ?? im struggling to make it any more clear

i never said they were there to influence the war,where did you get that from ?? you said “this has nothing to do with the civil war” which clearly isnt true,because if the war hadnt erupted it would not have gotten more dangerous,the austrians would not have pulled out and the irish stepped in,cant see why you cant grasp a basic fact

i know and said the peace keepers were already there so you can stop just repeating the obvious like you are actually making a point.you are caught out let it go,you say it is irrelevant that the war has made it more dangerous yet we are talking about the irish army being there and they are there because the austrians pulled out because it got too dangerous so rather than being irrelevant it is exactly on the money, you know that is right :-)

Everything I said was in response to Karen. Her post was nonsense, I’m sure you’ll agree. Keep moving those goalposts if you like, but the presence of a UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights has nothing to do with the war. It was there before the war, and it will still be there afterwards.

hahaha “keep moving the goalposts”,wonder where you heard that recently :-)

look you are clearly just being stubborn,we aren’t just talking about the peacekeeping effort but specifically the irish peace keeping effort,its very ironic that you accuse me of moving the goalposts,now do you disagree this is about the irish peacekeepers ??? answer that simple question

I don’t know about you, but I’m talking about the UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights, which Irish troops are about to become a part of. The force has been in place since 1973, since the end of the Yom Kippur war. Every comment that I have made on this thread is in relation to the UN mission, not specifically Irish involvement. You’re reading into something that isn’t there. You are the only one moving the goalposts. In fact, this is my first comment to include the words ‘Irish’ or ‘Ireland’. Keep trying.

Let me make it more simple for you. The troops stationed in the Golan Heights region are part of an observer force whose sole, solitary objective is to prevent an outbreak of conflict between Syria and Israel. That the area has become more dangerous since the outbreak of the civil war is irrelevant. Their mission has nothing to do with the war, and they will avoid, wherever possible, any interaction with forces from either side. They were there before the war and they will be there afterwards. If the war were to end tomorrow, those troops will still be heading out there.

jesus i thought you were being stubborn maybe you just cant grasp simple facts

the irish are they because of the civil war,its as simple as that or do you dispute that very very simple fact ??? and dont respond by stating the obvious or rehashing stuff i already eluded too,i know how long they have been there and why that is not in dispute

Wake up boy, the world is at war since it was created… It’s what makes it turn… Even with in Ireland there is conflict … Fastest way to turn a buck and keep people employed ..

And I’m sure your campaigns for peace achieve sweet f@ck all, here or elsewhere. At least these men and women contribute something of worth. Those stationed in Golan Heights, with the intention of preventing conflict in one if the world’s most volatile areas, contribute more to the ongoing process of peace than you or your keyboard activism ever will.

And anyone who disputes that human society is built on conflict and conflict resolution needs to open a history book. Uncomfortable truths are still truths.

Kevin. You need to enter Miss World.
Dead cert. I’d put money on you!

9 years and I lived in combats… They do get dirty, the body is kept clean…. What photos you are looking at is a photo shoot for the public…

Dirt and grime is not as obvious on DPM as it was on the old green field dress.

Correct name…….Jackass!!