@Markonline: soldiers are definitely on less than minimum wages for there 24hr duties.

@Richard Griffin: I actually think 44 is Euro is an over estimate unless it’s a special rate or it’s gone up recently…

@Richard Griffin: No doubt, I don’t get paid to sleep either and can have irregular hours depending on deadlines. I’m not arguing with you as I don’t know the facts from this article, that was my point.

@Markonline: I’m not sure how it works in Ireland, but if the UK is anything to go by the armed forces are typically exempt from the usual protection civilians rely on (same reason military law and civilian law are treated separately). British servicemen rely on a covenant with the state to provide adequate support, safeguards and compensation – the covenant however is not legally enshrined and there’s been plenty of controversy over HM Government’s failure to uphold it.

@Harry Whitehead: I think something similar does actually apply here too, so like you say civil/corporate laws regarding a “minimum wage” probably don’t apply.

@Markonline: As a serving soldier I can tell you that I wish you were right. However, this actually is the rate and most soldiers, depending on internal pay issues within their units, aren’t even getting that.

I’m on a 24hr duty Saturday. I will see roughly €28 extra in my hand for that 24 hours. It costs me €25.40 in diesel and tolls to get to work. I have done 5 duties since I was last paid for one. I’m not complaining; just giving you the facts.

@SlinkyDog: its exactly €48 per day before tax. Its considered security allowance.

@Kevin: Irish defence forces work for one thing. A pension.

@Kevin: it’s protection in case they don’t sue the state for hearing loss for giving them a career and state-pension.

@Kevin: sit around getting drunk the other 51 weeks of the year. Will get a full week off after unofficially. Better hope we never go to war with these guys

@Kevin: Military pensions costing €1bn

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/military-pensions-costing-euro1bn-286305.html

@Noreen Waters: Not the new pensions, they’re the legacy pensions, nowadays the newer soldiers can expect a smaller pension that isn’t worth working for. Pensions are the same across the civil service and public service. You have to understand though that for many soldiers – at least in the past, when they retire, they had very little in the way of transferrable skills in Ireland. Nowadays not many people sign up to stay in the DF for life, so its questionable, even with the new lower pensions, that theyll stay long enough to really benefit from it. What use is a big sum of money at the end of a career, when for most of your working life, you struggled on a bad salary and out of it, you have grown, fed, schooled and housed your children on your brutal wages all whilst making the biggest sacrafice for the state?

@Tom Molloy: That’s a good description of the RCC. Maybe the ones you think you are referring to are those who have been battered, tortured and sexually abused by the Church and you still cannot grasp it.

@Jason Ebbs:
The Pope is a head of state, if O’Higgins goes to the Vatican or say Britain any security is paid by the host nation. Same all over the world, it’s a international courtesy.

@P.J. Nolan: The Vatican isn’t a real state.. It serves no purpose to us.

@Seamus G: at least you’d get well paid in Afghanistan, and you couldn’t spend it either!!!

@Daniel Morrissey: not sure about being well paid for service in Afghanistan, but you would be Court-marshaled for doublethink.

@Seamus G:
Irish army are in Afghanistan

@P.J. Nolan: who will hold back the Russians then?

@Seamus Mac: Ignore yeates – he is saying that just to get ears on his station. hes never been a supporter of the defence forces, indeed of the civil service itself and him on his big ex govt pension too.

@Donal Desmond: the whole thing is a disgrace from start to finish. Tax payer paying 32 mil for the visit, but can’t stretch the budget to pay the soldiers a decent wage for it. Joke of a government

@Donal Desmond: The majority of firemen in Ireland are on call 24 hrs a day, that’s year round not just one 48 hour period. And they get paid less than the soldiers will get

@Malachy Guilfoyle: Dublin fire brigade is about €34,500 a year for basic fire fighter according to payscalea.ie, a private soldier with 4 years experience (typical soldier) is about €32,000 a year, including allowances

@Vocal Outrage: Not taking about full time fire services. Vast majority of firemen in Ireland are on call, not fire station based. Try Google again!

@Malachy Guilfoyle: that’s why I referenced the Dublin fire brigade, comparing full time fire fighters with full time soldiers. The article doesn’t appear to mention reserve defence forces so to compare with retained fire fighters is comparing apples and oranges really.

@Vocal Outrage: Not really, people on here running down the amount full time soldiers will be paid to be on call for 48 hours. I just pointed out retained fire fighters get less for being on call all year round. Less than €1 an hour

@Flembomb: arah that’s hard to believe

@Malachy Guilfoyle: those firemen that are on call are at home with their families throughout unless they’re called out, all of those soldiers will be away from their families and will receive approx 20 euro after tax per day for their troubles.

@stephen: Not necessarily, many work other jobs aswell, even when on call. And family life takes a major hit even at home. Fire fighters on call have to be within 2 to 3 miles of fire station at all times while on call

@Malachy Guilfoyle: so what exactly is your point then, that some firemen get paid less than their main jobs especially when some of them may be months without receiving a callout or is it just the fact you think soldiers shouldn’t be paid properly for working at least 48 hours on top of their normal working week

@Malachy Guilfoyle: Then the firemen and army personal should unite and demand a reasonal compensation package for the hours they out in after their regular hours. The abuse of getting employees to work for little or nothing is par for the course with government. I can assure you that all the politicians on bended knees at this farce will be well paid for it. If any religious leader comes to Ireland , What ever church they lead , they should pick up the cost.

All for some mentally deranged pensioner who thinks we all have the same da and he controls every aspect of our lives..

@Vocal Outrage: 3000 Euro? Savage insight there,any proof to back up that rubbish?

@MG O Mhaolalaigh: it was actually €30,000.

@MG O Mhaolalaigh: as I said, it was a soldiers wife on the radio giving the figures, I don’t believe the 3k was for one day however, I think it lasted a week according to her, it was on Newstalk today, about half 4

@Vocal Outrage: what evidence are you basing that statement on?

@Sharon Timwell: please read all subsequent comments before attacking someone, I was endeavouring to point the reader as best as possible to the source, unfortunate couldn’t write down the interview verbatim as I was driving at the time.

@Vocal Outrage: I wasn’t attacking you at all, just asked one polite question.

@Paul: They are deployed from Friday to Monday in various roles, troops are coming from across the country, staying in tents on safari beds, they will be deployed throughout the Phoenix park and other locations, yes this is most definitely an aid to the civil power task, some will be used as ticket checkers etc which is just cheap labour, others will be deployed for roles which they are trained for ie security of location etc, so yes they will be there shoulder to shoulder with members of An Garda, working for as little as €2ph

@Paul: they will be deployed, for longer hours at a time. To be clear though, this is not the fault of the Gardai, it is the fault of the Dept of Defence and the junior minister who allows this happen -

@Paul: who cares the tax payer is paying for a cult

@Paul: the will be scanning air space that the airport can’t see for at least 72hrs and providing overwatch with weapons and long range surveillance equipment and when your in your own bed at night along with the guards the soldiers will still be on the side of a hill in all types of weather

@Keith Murray: give your hatred a rest Keith

@Paul: 1300 army personnel required to assist the Garda, I believe

@Brian: You’re a troll but since you’re a lazy troll I’ll save you some wear and tear on your googling fingers; explosive ordnance disposal, major emergency relief, overseas peace enforcement, fisheries monitoring and protection, air ambulance, domestic and international security, providing advice to our government and others on the above topics as well as training and developing those areas. Don’t forget also feeding and supporting the people who do the tasks listed above. This is a sample, I’m sure people who are involved could add a number of additional items to that list

@Y U no spell good?: i think you should get a job writing cv’s or as a spin doctor.

@Brian: You want figures? around 900m euro
That’s the cost to us in a year.
It’s about the same as it costs to run the HSE for 4 weeks.
That’s the manning heating lighting of all the barracks
maintaining thousands of acres of training areas and firing ranges,
sailing, fuel, maintenance and manning of 8 naval vessels,
flying, maintenance fuel and manning of 26 aircraft including the garda heli’s
driving maintaining fuel and manning over 2000 vehicles
700 odd serving overseas on UN-mandated missions,
paying pensions to all the retired soldiers
and the salaries of 9000 odd serving soldiers, sailors and airmen
now, back under your bridge troll.
very cheap to be honest, once the pensions of the retirees and the paltry salaries of the serving are taken out, there’s very little cream at the top left for the rest of the tasks above.

@Peter Hughes: So that means it’s right to treat them as second class citizens? Jesus Peter

@Peter Hughes: you absolute mong! you have no idea, read the comments above, enough people have told you what the scant few soldiers, sailors and airmen do. they CANT strike, its illegal under military law, which they are subject to.you cant “pull” a sickie, as you end up in the medical aid post being examined by the medical corps before being kicked out the door and back to work.