The budget is actually quite healthy compared to other states, and given how utterly cheap debt is currently (ie we're being paid to borrow money) the State should be borrowing more for a range of Capital investments needed.
The lads seem to think that's just what this country needs, if the Russians or whoever decide to invade then our 3 or 4 fighter jets will be at the ready.
The Russians won't stand a chance.
Oh, I had no idea this is exclusive thread for irish air corps enthusiasts. Maybe if you lads chip in you can get some nice training simulator for them to at least have some fun since our need for a fighter jets can be compared to central african republic's need for a navy.
It really can't. But you're clearly not interested in the actual geopolitical situation. Just because you don't actually know anything, or care to find out about it, you've just said "fighters? Ask me bollix!"
The truth is Ireland could absolutely afford the 2% of GDP commitment for Defence spending, or seeing as its more realistic in Irish terms, 2% of modified GNI, or about 4.5 billion. But we don't even need that much to fully police and secure our airspace, area of air responsibility, territorial waters and maritime EEZ. 2.5-3 billion per annum would do it.
Is this a wind up😂
No its really not, the standard defence spend is 2% of gdp, we as a nation woefully underspend on defence and as a result we are seeing our sailors and soldiers leaving for the private sector.
Every "neutral" nation should be able to mount a meaningful defence of its territory, which is something we cannot do without meaningful investment in the Defence Forces and an annual budget of €3bn would fix a hell of a lot of the issues faced by the Defence Forces.
Call me old fashioned but I'm more interested in fixing the issues we have on the ground first.
I wouldnt call you old fashioned, I would have called you average clueless head in the sand Joe.
Well we will have to agree to disagree, seeing as though the plan to spend billions on fighter jets hasn't been put into action and no one is really talking about it apart from a few loons on boards who are terrified of the boogeyman Vladimir Putin, I would guess the experts and the vast majority of people in Ireland would agree with me rather than you.
Well, we'll see what the Commission on Defence comes up with in a few months time.
It's worth noting the Commission membership includes the former Chief of Defence of Norway, the Director of Defence Planning for Finland and current head of the EU military staff component and the Director of Strategic Defence Planning for Denmark who also guides the NATO 2030 programme, so I imagine the advice from those actual experts in the defence needs of smaller European nations, will be both relevant and unsugared.
Meanwhile, if its things on ground you want to address, the Army threads are that way ======>
When I said ''things on the ground'' I meant more along the lines of housing and poverty than anything army related
I know.
I just love everything at ill in the nation could somehow be solved in not spending on defence even though most areas of major concern (Health, Housing, Education, Social Welfare) receive budgets that are multiples of what we spend now, and would still be more even if we went anywhere close to 2%... Hell I wonder will anyone admit a properly invested cyberdefence capability might have been a better option than waiting until the HSE got taken off line?
Even a 1% target would still allow for systemic investment in the defence forces and still be insignificant to the budgets of the other areas.
Did all of them stay all the way through? From memory at least one of the Baltic members left and got a new position back home didn't he?
If you look at harryd's history the only army he is a supporter of is one that wears balaclavas and murders children and grannies.
It's true, Michael Collins and his terror gang did savagely murder many children and grannies, but that's not all they did so it's unfair to accuse me of supporting such behaviour.
Does someone who supports the British or US armies have to alos support the worst of the things they did?
Correct, I only referred to members still in situ.
Thats not what he's referring to.
When I say 'Óglaigh na hÉireann' to you Harry, what do you immediately think of?
Well it's the Irish army isn't it🤔👀🍀
That was actually the worst attempt at making someone look a fool I ever seen😂
Lol, it isn't actually, but I'll let you away with it.
So long as you didn't say The Ra, even if that is what you actually believe it to represent.
Just wondering why you say it's not?
Because Óglaigh Na hÉireann is the collective Irish language term for the Defence Forces, as a whole, as opposed to the literal translation Forsaí Cosanta, and not just the Army (an tArm).
You're wrong the Irish army is Óglaigh Na hÉireann.
To establish itself as carrying on the tradition of the pre-independence movement, the Army adopted Óglaigh na hÉireann as its Irish language name, and also adopted the cap badge and buttons of the Irish Volunteers; the badge incorporates the title in its design.
Not gonna beat you up over it but it's the facts, if you wanna try and make someone look a fool then take this lesson from the master😉
Maybe an exaggeration but my general point remains true.
Take the incident below. How would you propuse we as a state without the aircraft capable of intercepting to see whats going on deal with a simlar issue 200km of the west coast heading for this island?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_South_Dakota_Learjet_crash
If they just tried to spend the money they have properly and efficently, there would be more than enough in the pot . The waste in this country is scandalous
Defence is one of the least, if not The least funded departments in the state. That they can do what they are with what they have is down to efficiency. Also the DF don't hold the purse strings, the department does and that relationship isn't the best either.
To be fair the hse as huge legacy of pensions and other expenses from when it was 4 or 5 different groups divided by regions. So that might improve as time goes on. The next big spender is welfare have fun touching anything to do with that. And with good reason while there are people that play the system some do need help and trying to find the line can be hard.
Right now, today, on this planet, Óglaigh Na hÉireann is not the Irish army, its the Defence Forces. Its not really a matter of debate either.
[MOD]Lads, this semantic debate on what anyone means by O na hE or Army or Air Corps or whatever is silly and is entirely off-topic for this thread. Drop it, please.
I also wonder if I shouldn't put a sticky on Post #1 saying something along the lines of "No, we aren't just talking about squadrons of fighters to fight WW3 against the Russians, but more limited roles of a more practical basis for the current Irish situation"[/MOD]
