Soldiers sleep in cars outside barracks because they can’t afford to drive home
Wednesday, October 01, 2014



Soldiers are sleeping in their cars outside army barracks because they can no longer afford to drive home to their families.

PDForra, the group which represents more than 6,800 rank-and-file members of the Defence Forces, said it is a symptom of the cuts members have endured in the past five years.

The situation has become more desperate for soldiers following the closure of a number of barracks. Some are facing round trips of up to 300km after being relocated to other barracks.

Several are having to dig into their pockets to afford the daily commute. Others have chosen to sleep in their cars, only returning to their families at the weekend.

Gerard Guinan, the organisation’s deputy general secretary, said 20% of the Defence Forces are claiming Family Income Support to make ends meet.

“Loyal, dedicated, professional soldiers should not be reliant on the Department of Social Protection to supplement their pay in order for them to enjoy the very basic standard of living,” he said.

A private entering the Defence Forces on apprenticeship is being paid €244.86 a week, which is just €60 more than the maximum jobseeker’s payment.

Defence Forces members have to regularly carry out 24-hour “guard duties”. They get an additional allowance for this, which works out at 95c per hour after tax.

More soldiers, airmen, and sailors than ever before are seeking loans from the Defence Forces’ Credit Union to get them out of financial trouble.

For some, it is too late. They have already had their houses repossessed. This has been the case for some chief petty officers and company sergeants.

“The cumulative effect of poor pay and increased workload demands are serving to undermine the moral of our proud members of the Defence Forces,” Mr Guinan said.

The group said it is time the Government paid back the loyalty shown by the Defence Forces by increasing their wages.

This call will be high up the agenda on day two of PDForra’s three-day annual conference, which kicked off in Sligo yesterday.

The 130 delegates, who represent the Army, Navy and Air Corps, will also discuss health and safety issues and the asbestos crisis which has led to two ships being out of commission since May 28.

PDForra will also seek to have itself given full trade union status.

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Soldiers ‘can’t afford €48 a week for accommodation’
By Sean O’Riordan
Thursday, October 02, 2014



The Defence Forces say soldiers shouldn’t have to sleep in their cars as there is emergency accommodation available to them — but it costs €48 a week.

The Defence Forces press office said senior officers would investigate claims that some soldiers, who’ve seen their wages cut dramatically in the past six years, simply can’t afford to drive home to their families every night.

The claims were made by senior figures in the Permanent Defence Forces Other Ranks Representative Association (PDForra) at their annual conference in Sligo.

Some of those choosing to sleep in their cars were soldiers who had been transferred to other barracks when a number of them were closed two years ago.

In some cases, they were having to make round-trips of up to 290km and they couldn’t afford the fuel to travel home every night.

It has been reported, but not yet substantiated, that a couple of soldiers were only returning home after a week-long shift. The Defence Forces press office said yesterday that the military had a duty of care to its troops and that anybody in need could seek emergency accommodation by making a request up the ranks.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/archive...on-289525.html

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News Thursday 2 October 2014
Soldiers sleep in car to save on petrol

01/10/2014 | 02:30SHARE

General Secretary Gerry Rooney, listens to contributions from the floor.
Soldiers are being forced to sleep in their cars because they cannot afford to drive home every day after work.

Many of them face much longer journeys from their barracks to their homes as a result of the recent re-organisation of the Defence Forces.

And about 20pc of enlisted personnel in the organisation, which represents around 1,500 soldiers, are now claiming the family income supplement to meet their weekly bills.

The annual conference of Pdforra, the association representing soldiers, sailors and aircrew in the Defence Forces, was told in Sligo last night that the plight of the troops had been revealed in a welfare report discussed at a private session yesterday.

The report showed that up to five soldiers had to sleep in their cars during the week as they did not have the spare cash to buy petrol on a daily basis.

Some have to travel from Athlone to Galway.

General secretary Gerry Rooney called for a response from government, as he said young soldiers were earning €21,000 to €24,000 and pointed out that his members had endured a loss of almost a fifth of their earnings since 2009.

Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news...-30628580.html




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