Sir, - I read with much interest the details of the recent award to one of our soldiers because of his sufferings with post-traumatic stress and really would like to know what exactly is going on.
Hundreds of people living in Belfast, Derry and throughout the North of Ireland have endured the experience of a sustained bombing and shooting campaign throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Yet I cannot recall a case where one of these victims received any compensation for the stress that they endured, certainly not at the level we have recently seen, nor was it suggested that they might. Life just had to go on.
Surely it must be recognised that certain jobs do carry certain in-built hazards. Woodworkers, builders, lorry-drivers, hospital casualty staff, all realise their occupations contain certain in-built risks and act accordingly. Soldiers, unfortunately, can be shot at or be involved in explosions, but they, too, must come to terms with the fact that this is part of the job. However our soldiers are not only under pressure from flying missiles but can also come to grief from the sound of music, a "first" for any army in the world. Thank God we do not have "Kick the Pope" flute bands, with their Lambeg drums, serving in our armed forces.
God help us if we ever go to war, for no matter how short a period. The Curragh and other Army camps throughout the State will have to be turned into veterans' hospitals and our already strained medical resources will have to be channelled into helping those poor unfortunates, who were asked to act on our behalf. Where will the Government find the additional resources required? From you and me, that's where! We will soon have to come to the practical conclusion that we can no longer afford the luxury of an army and be left with no alternative but to seriously consider that it be asked to stand down.
Proinsias and the Greens are right: Ireland must remain neutral; we really cannot afford any alternative. Perhaps an option might be that we approach the EU and advise it that we are prepared to join their alliance but only on the condition that they take over the full costs of looking after our fighting men. Unfortunately I feel that they, too, would recommend we remain neutral. - Yours, etc., Tom McGrogan,
Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.