Minister resigns

Growler!!!

So, Minister Shatter has resigned.

Good or bad for the DF?

Who will fill his portfolio?

Hedgemeister

Doesn't really matter who gets the job, and nothing will change & the DF will be just as neglected as it always was.

The new Minister, whoever she may be, will be known mainly as 'The Minister for Justice' only, and as a sideline she will get to close a few more Army Barracks.

Mackas_view

I wouldn be so pessimistic I would be hopeful that the DF will get an easier ride now that he's gone. I have immediate family members that are in the DF and they have taken massive cuts to their pensions and pay.

Hedgemeister

Don't confuse pessimism with realism.
I have an Army pension that's been cut by a third in the past few years.
I wish I could afford to tell 'em to stick it 'where Jack stuck the rusty shilling' but I can't.

neilled

Mackas_view wrote: »

I wouldn be so pessimistic I would be hopeful that the DF will get an easier ride now that he's gone. I have immediate family members that are in the DF and they have taken massive cuts to their pensions and pay.

The pay and pension cuts that members of the DF and DF pensioners have suffered in recent years have nothing to do with whoever is minister for defence and these cuts have been shared across the public sector.

Mackas_view

neilled wrote: »

The pay and pension cuts that members of the DF and DF pensioners have suffered in recent years have nothing to do with whoever is minister for defence and these cuts have been shared across the public sector.

In regards to the contracts the have I'm not talkin about cuts in general I'm talking about DF only

neilled

Mackas_view wrote: »

In regards to the contracts the have I'm not talkin about cuts in general I'm talking about DF only

And they were imposed across the public sector, they were not unique to Defence. A change of minister for Defence will not "ease" the burden that DF members and dependants are going through, the reality is its the Department and Minister for Finance that pulls the strings - the minister can ask for permission to take on recruits, apprentices or cadets, however finance need to allocate funds. If any respite comes, it will be in the form of next years budget, so we may sit tight and wait to see what that brings.

The former minister is a convenient and easy hate figure for those unfamiliar with how the system works, however pay and pensions would be largely out of his hands.

Sierra Oscar

So Frances Fitzgerald has been appointed as the new Minister for Justice, but the Taoiseach has split the Defence and Justice portfolios. He has taken Defence under his own portfolio for now.

Larbre34

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

So Frances Fitzgerald has been appointed as the new Minister for Justice, but the Taoiseach has split the Defence and Justice portfolios. He has taken Defence under his own portfolio for now.

He just wants the Sam commissioning ceremony all to himself

sparky42

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

So Frances Fitzgerald has been appointed as the new Minister for Justice, but the Taoiseach has split the Defence and Justice portfolios. He has taken Defence under his own portfolio for now.

I wonder is that just to get past the locals and come the Reshuffle he'll put it back out (guessing the commitment to a smaller cabinet might be a reason for it).

Larbre34

Yeah Enda has clearly learned his lesson that the Justice portfolio requires undivided ministerial attention.

I would argue the same about Defence but I dont think he will leave it as a solo ministry when the reshuffle comes.

Department of Defence and Children perhaps :rolleyes:

sparky42

Larbre34 wrote: »

Yeah Enda has clearly learned his lesson that the Justice portfolio requires undivided ministerial attention.

I would argue the same about Defence but I dont think he will leave it as a solo ministry when the reshuffle comes.

Department of Defence and Children perhaps :rolleyes:

The child soldier thing might have some negative international attention but other than that what could go wrong:rolleyes:

Sadly the majority of the population at best couldn't care less about the Defence Forces.

Hedgemeister

Hedgemeister wrote: »

Doesn't really matter who gets the job, and nothing will change & the DF will be just as neglected as it always was.

The new Minister, whoever she may be, will be known mainly as 'The Minister for Justice' only, and as a sideline she will get to close a few more Army Barracks.

The ole Hedgemeister got it right 'whoever SHE may be' :P

aindriu80

sparky42 wrote: »

Sadly the majority of the population at best couldn't care less about the Defence Forces.

That could go for most departments.

Enda Kenny should give the department of defence to one minister and not bundle it like he did with Shatter.

mikeym

Shatter didnt care about the men and women on the post 94 contracts that are approaching their 21st year and I doubt the new minister will care when she takes over.


These politicians dont serve the people only themselves and their close friends.

Conmaicne Mara

Larbre34 wrote: »

Yeah Enda has clearly learned his lesson that the Justice portfolio requires undivided ministerial attention.

I would argue the same about Defence but I dont think he will leave it as a solo ministry when the reshuffle comes.

Department of Defence and Children perhaps :rolleyes:

Department of Defense and the Marine maybe?

sparky42

aindriu80 wrote: »

That could go for most departments.

Enda Kenny should give the department of defence to one minister and not bundle it like he did with Shatter.

No they care about health, education, social welfare, agriculture for example. But when was the last time you heard any attention paid to the underlying issues for the Defence Forces (at best you get a few clips a year on RTE).

I'm not knocking the Forces in that, I wish they got more, but most of the public couldn't tell you much of anything about the DF and a large chunk would answer "Why do we need them".

gizmo555

sparky42 wrote: »

Sadly the majority of the population at best couldn't care less about the Defence Forces.

It appears RTE couldn't either. I listened to Drivetime on the road this evening and watched the 9 O'Clock news on TV and neither made any reference at all to the Taoiseach taking on Defence.

I had an idea passing the canal gate of Cathal Brugha Barracks this afternoon. As I drove by I could see troops formed up in ranks in full riot gear holding perspex shields, no doubt practicing to "aid the civil power" (BTW, I wonder what the authorities are worried about!)

If it was good enough for one minister to run justice and defence, why not aid the civil power by adding the Garda Commisioner's role to the chief of staff's responsibilities? A good dose of military discipline could work wonders for the guards!

Xios

gizmo555 wrote: »

I had an idea passing the canal gate of Cathal Brugha Barracks this afternoon. As I drove by I could see troops formed up in ranks in full riot gear holding perspex shields, no doubt practicing to "aid the civil power" (BTW, I wonder what the authorities are worried about!)

I'm not in the defence forces, but from the people i know in the army, riot training is done quite regularly. 3 or 4 times in the last year someone i know has done it.

Local-womanizer

It's most likely 2-3* soldiers riot training.

But yea, nothing will change with a change of minister. It's all to do with money, and money will dictate the friction the DF will go, not operational requirements.

sparky42

gizmo555 wrote: »

It appears RTE couldn't either. I listened to Drivetime on the road this evening and watched the 9 O'Clock news on TV and neither made any reference at all to the Taoiseach taking on Defence.

Yeah, I was wondering when I read it on the Indo's site and there was no mention, and then a little EDIT down the bottom as an "Oh yeah and...":rolleyes: