And Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was “almost there” on his morale-boosting trip to visit Irish soldiers in Africa. Then he shot himself in the foot. Having waxed lyrical about Ireland’s noble involvement in peacekeeping, and a goal to double our global footprint over the next decade, he showed himself at his tone-deaf worst. He told the soldiers in Mali he accepts they are low paid but “the career is always about more than money”. But Mr Varadkar is right on one front – the career certainly is about more than money. The Defence Forces, after all, are the go-to sector in time of national emergency. In extreme weather they are called in to transport people who are cut off, as we saw last year. They play a vital role in intercepting illegal drugs, people and arms. And they protect the State from armed aggression. They have also won international recognition on peace keeping missions. By Mr Varadkar’s logic, no amount of money would be adequate to put your life on the line. On the other hand their wives, husbands or partners should not have had to march on the Dáil, as they were driven to do last year, to demand enough… Read full this story
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