The High Court yesterday rejected a claim that Irish soldiers were entitled to subsistence allowances, while also receiving full meals, during a major Army operation along the Border seven years ago.
Mr Justice Geoghegan ruled that soldiers could not claim subsistence payments in circumstances where they were fully fed and accommodation was made available for them, even if they did not take it up.
The judge said the dispute over entitlement to subsistence allowances arose during Operation Mandrake, the largest enterprise engaged in by the Defence Forces since the second World War, which ran from January 20th, 1992, to April 14th, 1992.
In the action taken by the soldiers' group, the Permanent Defence Forces Other Ranks Representative Association, it was alleged that soldiers were refused subsistence allowances mainly because of Government cutbacks at the time.
The action was taken on behalf of 69 soldiers, including Cpl Gerry Martyn (40), of Pineridge, Balbriggan, Co Dublin. The soldiers claimed they were entitled to such subsistence independent of meals.
In his reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Geoghegan said Cpl Martyn had been involved in duties at Border observation posts for periods up to 12 hours.
The judge found that the provision of rations for the soldiers, while on operations, was an innovation introduced for the purposes of Operation Mandrake or, at the very least, was an innovation in terms of the scale on which it was done.
Largely for this reason, there were mistakes at the beginning. Inadequate containers were used for retaining heat and also for keeping sandwiches fresh.
Food, particularly sandwiches, was deliberately returned uneaten at certain stages during Operation Mandrake so as not to jeopardise the subsistence claim. It seemed likely there was an element of collusion in this, the judge said.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said that on foot of these findings he was satisfied the soldiers were fully rationed while on Operation Mandrake.
If Cpl Martyn and other soldiers were given subsistence payments in respect of their operations during Operation Mandrake, even though they were fully rationed, there would, in effect, be double subsistence by the State and that could never had been intended by the regulations, he found.