Officers paying up to €67,000 each to leave Defence Forces early
Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on defence Jack Chambers TD described the departures as “a shocking exodus of key officers in highly specialised areas”.
Questions put to Minister of State for Defence Paul Kehoe’s office by The Irish Times seeking his view on the loss of expertise and the desire of some young officers to pay large sums to end their military careers went unanswered at the time of publication. Defence Forces personnel who complete courses during their military careers must sign an undertaking to continue to serve for an agreed number of years after they graduate. That involves them serving in the Army, Naval Service or Air Corps after graduation for two years for every year they spent in university.
Mr Chambers said the fact young skilled officers were paying so much money to break their service “reinforces the absence of hope for the future of the Defence Forces”.He added: “The individuals forking out up to €60,000 to escape the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps are precisely the kind of people we should be trying to hang onto and develop into key leadership positions to ensure a modern and progressive Defence Forces.
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