PDFORRA CONFERENCE:MEMBERS OF the Defence Forces have seen their incomes reduced so much through pay cuts, levies and the loss of overseas service allowances they may need to turn to money lenders, it has been claimed.
PDforra, the staff representative association for soldiers, aircrew and sailors, believes some of its members are in such dire financial straits they are at risk of being corrupted by others who will prey on their vulnerability.
The association’s president Willie Webb said his members now need relief from some of the cuts imposed on them.
“Large numbers of our members now find themselves and their incomes to be reduced to the level of extreme hardship,” he said at the closing session of PDforra’s annual conference.
The conference had earlier been told that those on incomes of between €31,500 and €41,000 had already seen their incomes cut by up to €5,000 when all of the pay cuts and levies were taken into account.
Delegates also heard that with the withdrawal of Irish troops from Chad earlier this year, there was no longer a large Irish mission overseas. This meant many personnel had been denied the opportunity of six-month overseas tours, during which they could earn up to €15,000 tax-free in extra allowances.
PDforra last week applied to the Department of Finance for lower-paid members of the Defence Forces to be exempted from some of the pay cuts introduced last year. Mr Webb called on Minister for Defence Tony Killeen to do everything in his power to ensure members of the Defence Forces were paid “a decent wage”.