So the army's hoping to recruit 1450 new soldiers... Waste of money?

0byme75341jo28

Would the money involved in this recruitment drive not be better spent on something like healthcare? To open up more beds in hospitals? More ambulances for rural Ireland? I understand that the money for this won't be coming from the healthcare budget, but the Irish army is far far less important than the healthcare services. Why not employ 1450 nurses/paramedics in the next two years? Can't help but see this as a complete waste of money, these new recruits are going to be of very little use to the general public.

tigger123

Throwing money at the health system isn't going to solve it.

Is the army down on numbers since the recession and recruitments embargo? Are they filling vacancies or are they new positions?

0byme75341jo28

tigger123 wrote: »

Throwing money at the health system isn't going to solve it.

Is the army down on numbers since the recession and recruitments embargo? Are they filling vacancies or are they new positions?

Targeted spending would certainly help, if it was used to buy new ambulance/employ more medical staff for example, as opposed to being spent on golden handshakes/bonuses.

Guy:Incognito

More Gardai I would have thought would be an acceptable alternative spend?

Dirty Dingus McGee

Sounds like a sensible use of money.

For defensive reason we should definitely have a bigger armed forces and more resources for them.

No point being completely helpless as a country if something were to happen.

dreamers75

Recruitment drive???? those 1450 lads/ladies are all related to current army members.

Captain Chaos

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

More Gardai I would have thought would be an acceptable alternative spend?

AGSI have said that they could hire around 1,500 civilians to free up the same amount of gardai from desk duties. That seems like a no brainer plan to me.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'd give the money to recruit more nurse's & garda to defuse bombs, serve in war zones, bring humanitarian aid to the Med flotilla, medic's who helped in the West African Ebola crisis, patrol & protect our shores etc etc and all for a miserly few million a year.

Oh, and get a few LUAS drivers to operate the tanks

Captain Chaos

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

No point being completely helpless as a country if something were to happen.

1400 extra soldiers are going to make feck all difference if something were to happen.

We are basically defenseless anyway you look at it. All we can do is support other forces abroad in peace keeping roles, we have no force projection or defensive capabilities at all.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Captain Chaos wrote: »

1400 extra soldiers are going to make feck all difference if something were to happen.

We are basically defenseless anyway you look at it. All we can do is support other forces abroad in peace keeping roles, we have no force projection or defensive capabilities at all.

Perhaps but I don't see the harm of having a larger army particularly considering the good work they do with the UN forces.

There are many more things that could be considered more wasteful than this.

JustTheOne

Brandon Sharp Soap wrote: »

Targeted spending would certainly help, if it was used to buy new ambulance/employ more medical staff for example, as opposed to being spent on golden handshakes/bonuses.

People on medical cards clogging up doctors and hospitals with a sniffle is what is causing the health system to not function proper.

If I don't use it I loose it is the excuse.

1 in 2 having medical cards is a disgrace. Start charging even a 5er to go to the doctor or hospital and you would solve the health crisis.

LeinsterDub

Captain Chaos wrote: »

1400 extra soldiers are going to make feck all difference if something were to happen.

People in the flood effect areas where certainly happy our 'useless' army was around to help

arybvtcw0eolkf

Captain Chaos wrote: »

We are basically defenseless anyway you look at it. All we can do is support other forces abroad in peace keeping roles, we have no force projection or defensive capabilities at all.

And you know this because of your service at home & abroad on various peace keeping & peace enforcement tours?.. Or are you just guessing?.

uck51js9zml2yt

My brother will be retiring in a few years after over 40_years service. They'll need 1450 to replace him, so a good call:)

edbrez

tigger123 wrote: »

Throwing money at the health system isn't going to solve it.

Ugly Irish people who don't care for themselves will always end up sick.

Barry Badrinath

Captain Chaos wrote: »

1400 extra soldiers are going to make feck all difference if something were to happen.

We are basically defenseless anyway you look at it. All we can do is support other forces abroad in peace keeping roles, we have no force projection or defensive capabilities at all.

If only you could see the irony in your post.

Well, with 1400 less soldiers, we will be even more defenceless with reduced force protection.

Do you even know what 'force protection' means? Do you know what the current defence capabilities are? Or even what to defend against?

We dont generally "support other forces" either, we are a force ourselves.

You should inform yourself about the last 10yrs Defence budget Vs. The last 10yrs Health budget. Identify which one wasted more of tax payers money.

Ideally, more nurses and AGS would be my preference but until the deficiencies in the service are eradicated, more personnel is fruitless.

MacauDragon

Defense budget should go on suitcase sized bioweapons and minisubs and speedboats.

Iwasfrozen

Brandon Sharp Soap wrote: »

Would the money involved in this recruitment drive not be better spent on something like healthcare? To open up more beds in hospitals? More ambulances for rural Ireland? I understand that the money for this won't be coming from the healthcare budget, but the Irish army is far far less important than the healthcare services. Why not employ 1450 nurses/paramedics in the next two years? Can't help but see this as a complete waste of money, these new recruits are going to be of very little use to the general public.

We should be cutting the defence force by 1450 people, what a waste of money.

Carlos Orange

Pretty sure a tiny increase in health spending isn't going to stop people moaning about the health system.

BoJack Horseman

To frame this in some context, below are the numbers of retirees from the defence forces in recent years:

2008: 276
2009: 425
2010: 427
2011: 498
2013: 597

In 2014 there were around 400 new members, in 2015 it was 350
2016 there will be 600 & in 2017 in there will be 850 vacancies across the services.

* I can't find the number of retirees in 2012 or 2014
... but it would likely to be around 500 in each year.

So, the government just want to get back to the minimum force structure of just 9,500 personnel..... as of October 15' it was at 9,155

They haven't been allowed to recruit enough in the last couple of years. This recruitment drive is just to maintain strength at 9,500 total across the three branches. The DF isn't getting bigger its just doing enough to stop getting smaller.

kneemos

Brandon Sharp Soap wrote: »

Would the money involved in this recruitment drive not be better spent on something like healthcare? To open up more beds in hospitals? More ambulances for rural Ireland? I understand that the money for this won't be coming from the healthcare budget, but the Irish army is far far less important than the healthcare services. Why not employ 1450 nurses/paramedics in the next two years? Can't help but see this as a complete waste of money, these new recruits are going to be of very little use to the general public.

From what I gather the health service is more than adequately funded when compared to other countries.
It's how it's managed is the problem.

ygolometsipe

Brandon Sharp Soap wrote: »

Would the money involved in this recruitment drive not be better spent ....

You will never win in Age of Empires II with that attitude.
Typical noob mistake, making a great economy only to have the
Byzantines come in an smash it all to sh1t.

You will be happy with your 1450 troops when everyone is hiding
in the town center getting pelted with arrows!

The One Doctor

edbrez wrote: »

Ugly Irish people who don't care for themselves will always end up sick.

You can take care of yourself as much as possible and still get brain cancer, MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, pancreatitis... the list goes on and on.

And I'm sure you can't help being ugly. Not your fault.

kneemos

Trouble with the army is you don't see them very often,they don't even do the money escorts anymore. Nobody really knows what they do.

maryishere

kneemos wrote: »

Trouble with the army is you don't see them very often,they don't even do the money escorts anymore. Nobody really knows what they do.

play paintball games?:D

anto9

Join the Irish army and see the Curagh .Gob****e Army .If you are lucky though you might be sent to Syria .(we are not in Nato but in the pocket of the USA .)

holdfast

go anto09

maryishere

anto9 wrote: »

Join the Irish army and see the Curagh .Gob****e Army .

We do need some token little army though, because of a possible threat at some stage in the future from dissidents or whoever, and to diffuse the odd bomb and so on..

Guy:Incognito

The One Doctor wrote: »

And I'm sure you can't help being ugly. Not your fault.

Enough funding in the health service and we can include elective plastic surgery for all

The Rape of Lucretia

Brandon Sharp Soap wrote: »

Targeted spending would certainly help, if it was used to buy new ambulance/employ more medical staff for example, as opposed to being spent on golden handshakes/bonuses.

More money into the health service would just compound the wastefulness. It is a problem of industrial relations, gombeen local politics, and a lack of communication to the public on what is necessary for an effective health system. Sacking at least 10000 people, reforming outdated restrictive practices which lock-in inefficiency, closing all the hospitals in small towns (only Dublin Cork, Galway and Sligo should have them), new contracts including paycuts for workers, and reform of the procurement are needed first.


We need an army. As a responsible, open international state, expecting to be respected on the world stage we must make our contribution however small towards pooled global security. If the recruits are needed for us to be able to do that, then we must pay the price to do so. Not look at what else we might spend it on. Particularly not good money after bad in to the health service.