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WIVES AND PARTNERS of Defence Forces members will hold a march and 24 hour vigil today outside Leinster House in protest at pay and conditions for serving members.
The organisation – WPDF – which was set up in November last year argues that Defence Forces members are among the lowest paid public servants in the country.
At present, the group states that many Defence Forces members are effectively working for less than the minimum wage, and have no method of recourse via traditional industrial relations channels in Ireland.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, one of the founders of the group Shelley Cotter said that Defence Forces members weren’t being treated fairly by government.
“We’ve got men and women who are the lowest paid public sector workers who were subjected to the exact same cuts at the exact same rate as all other public sector workers during the recession,” she said.
But it decimated an already screamingly low wage and they’re being restored in dribs and drabs.
Cotter said that the effect this is having on force members and their families is huge.
“Families are living in poverty,” she said.
“We have men and women serving in the Defence Forces whose families are the working poor.
They’re serving their country, they’re wearing their uniform with their flag on their shoulder and in essence are working poor.
Cotter said that some members were drawing income supplement while working and that this was “indicative of how the government are feeling about the Defence Forces”.
No one should be in service to their country and qualify for social welfare payments – it should just never happen.
The protest will begin today at 2pm with a wreath laying ceremony in honour of Defence Forces members who have died. It will followed by a march.
A 24 hour vigil will take place into tomorrow morning in solidarity with Defence Forces members working 24 hour duties.
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And what happens to the person responsible for the animal, nothing.
@cryptodon: you can beat a dog to death in front of a park full of children in Ireland and you won’t even get jail time, hell the judge won’t even ban you from owning any dogs in future!
“One witness saw Liam Dowling (44) swing the Jack Russell dog overhead by its lead and smash it to the ground up to 30 times as he crossed a park area by Clonliffe College.”
“He said he would not impose a ban on Dowling keeping animals, as he didn’t want to deprive the man’s child of having a dog.”
https://www.thejournal.ie/dog-court-violent-killing-animal-2240201-Jul2015/
Given the high dogh ownership in Ireland you’d think there would be at least strict setencing for beating a dog to death in such a monsterous way, so there’s zero chance the owner of this horse will be held responsible sadly.
@Barry Somers: god that’s disgusting & of course look who the judge is , so not surprising!
@Barry Somers: judge martin nolan . Theres a shocker
@Lindsey O Connor: although judicial discretion is enshrined in our constitution there are times when one has to question that discretion……whilst he may assidiously apply the letter of the law when it comes to discretionary matters you have to ask questions
@Barry Somers: Martin Nolan. Again.
I am a real animal lover. What happened Tue horse is terrible. The commenters here though are trying to vilify the owner. There’s a possibility this was just an accident. It’s a young enough horse. It may have slipped on newly disturbed mud and gotten caught. There was a lot of rain lately. Also, the fall might have spooked the animal and caused him to panic. Up to the incident he may have been galloping around a fifty acre field. Don’t vilify the owner on public social forums until you know the facts. Nothing in the article refers to cruelty. The owner might have been away…
@Shane McGrath: of course it could have been an accident but it’s simply not good enough to put a horse in a field at this time of the year without at least a rug and some supplementary feed and it should be checked on twice a day. Horse does look thin and neglected have to say even before the supposed accident.
@Shane McGrath: I hope you don’t own too many animals. The owner is responsible for its care even if he was away. Animals out on grass should be looked at twice a day especially this time of year. Gates should be secure so they dont fall down, and horses especially should have companions keep them calm and stop them doing stupid things like fooling around gates.
@Shane McGrath: I agree entirely. There is no evidence in the article to suggest there was any form or cruelty or neglect involved.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: of course there is evidence of neglect where is the owner? Horse there for hours. No microchip. No responsibility. Maybe you should read the article again or go to the MLHR Facebook page so you can see the evidence of neglect there. And take your blinkers off.
@wondermiss: Climb down off your pulpit! I’m commenting on the information in the article, which I read carefully, not on any other sources. There is in fact no mention of owners or microchipping so any reference to either is nothing other than conjecture.
@Johnny Rielly: so let’s say the owner was checking on the horse twice a day, that gives the horse 12 hours to get into trouble, which is entirely possible. I had a young horse here a few years ago that did the exact same thing but luckily I heard the racket and got him out before any harm was done. You can’t always blame the owner.
@Seamus Murphy: Precisely. They get themselves into the most awful trouble so quickly.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: look at the horse for god sake, its so thin and dried mud all over it no head collar before it ever had the accident it was neglected
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: sure believe what you want if it makes you feel better
@Loretta stiletto: The majority of good horsepeople won’t leave headcollars on horses wintering away from their property as they’re a safety risk. The mud is clearly as a result of the incident, and even if it has been there longer a bit of mud is no harm. Mine practically swim in it for a hobby! No statement that this young horse is underweight and the fact that the horse is wet is deceptive. My point is people are making stuff up to suit their agenda. It’s incredibly sad and if this turns out to be a case of sheer neglect I’d be the first to condemn it, but knowing just how quickly horses can get themselves into trouble I prefer to react to the facts presented in the article and give the owner the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: oh stop, I wouldn’t like to be your horse. I’ve had horses all my life. Its neglect end of.
@Loretta stiletto: Resorting to personal insults from behind an anonymous profile…stay classy!
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: is that the best you can come up with? Where was the personal insult directed at you. The horse was neglected as far as i am concerned whether you agree or not I really don’t care. The poor thing is dead.
@Loretta stiletto: And you were there of course.
The poor horse, it must have been terrified.
This drives me fukkkin mad.
someone must know who owns this poor animal – speak up and name them to the gardai or even the charity ‘my lovely horse’ ! then again it will probably only mean a small fine and a telling off — when it should lead to a ban on keeping ANY animals for life !
@Eric Davies: I doubt there would even be a fine.
My lovely horse rescue are all volunteers. They are the ones pulling horses from canals in the dark, feeding horses in the snow drifts and going out to horrific cruelty day or night. Where are ispca, gardai and dept of agriculture officials, the ones actually paid to protect animals and their welfare?? We need to follow the Netherlands example and bring in dedicated animal welfare police and strict sentencing for cruelty. If you read the post about how the Netherlands now have zero stray dogs on my lovely horse Facebook its amazing. We can stamp out this cruelty, it starts with voting out all the politicians who see no cruelty. Please donate to my lovely horse, they get barely zero help from government but do all the work. Please help horses and lurchers, they are the most abused in Ireland. please feed any horses who need help
@marianne ryan: agree totally
People have no idea of the lengths the volunteers, and I stress volunteers, go to to rescue animals. People need to realise that the humans involved see so much trauma and cruelty and as much as the charity need monetary support, they also need emotional and social support. All acts of kindness help to build up resilience..So please support the animals and also the amazing humans who help them
Shocking, all horses are supposed to be micro chipped owner should be charged and jailed. There are no excuses for the conditions this horse was kept in. Disgusting and disgraceful .
Burns my eyes…..what cruelty
Its a sad indictment of this country that we pushed through a bill on Circus animals where no cruelty was apparent but do nothing about this or puppy farms and sulky road racing
@Dnom: there is ALWAYS cruelty involved when ‘training’ wild animals for circuses, it’s against their nature to perform for people so their spirit is broken. On top of that then is the confined spaces, inability to express their natural nature. It’s not a competition, all forms of animal abuse and neglect should be tackled.
The poor thing
Oh thanks to the volunteers who went to help . Thanks for trying
And who owns this wonderful animal?? Why was she not missed or checked on?? Have the owners been identified??? Are they going to be prosecuted?? This is disgraceful and pure ANIMAL NEGLECT & CRUELTY. Please punish these owners to the full extent of the law. A HUGE THANK YOU to the rescue group for finding and helping this wonderful animal
Not really the actual image I was hoping to see
( in the main view of the topics )
@Peter: that’s the reality
@Anne: That’s true
Sickening to see ane sickening that nothing will be done about it .
We have no laws in Ireland to protect man or animal you can do what you want it’s a lawless country and it’s the politicians and judges fault who wont enforce the legislation .
The do gooders are always on hand to protect the offenders in this country and God forbid mention the !!!I wont say it or I’ll be accused of been racist . Do what you want in this country but dont get caught with 2 pints worst crime going .
@Michael Mcloughlin: I think the ‘do gooders’ in this case are the volunteers who spent hours of their own time in the cold trying to save this poor animal. How exactly are they being protected? The horse and greyhound industries receive €millions of taxpayers money each year but it’s rescues and volunteers who pick up the pieces when the animals are abused and neglected.
We have animal welfare legislation but until it’s properly enforced this kind of tragedy will continue to happen.
@EillieEs: theres a difference in Ireland in people who do good and do gooders most of the people who will be knocking on doors shortly looking for votes are do gooders
@Michael Mcloughlin: I’ve been ridiculed and called a do-gooder because I think the most vulnerable should be supported and that includes humans and animals
Remember! Put this on your agenda for the next Election. Nothing is being done for animals in country. So shameful.
@Anne: oh there’s lots being done it’s one of the only industries that’s vat free for one
A lot of farmers are just lazy cruel, greedy sods that should never be allowed near an animal in my view.
@TamuMassif2019: have you ever worked a farm? Lazy is not a word i would associate with farming in my limited experience.
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