Interesting articles

Nice idea on paper but I and most others wouldn't / couldn't work for nothing for two years, there's nothing stopping those who want to though.

It's hard enough for young adults to establish themselves these days with degrees required for more and more jobs, and often not primary degrees either, so two years more of not earning on top of that? They'll be pushing 30 before properly entering the workforce, and any hope of an independent secure financial future seriously hit at best.

The costs of babysitting tens of thousands of people who don't want to be there would be astronomical. It'd be like community service only 100 times worse.

Tbh it also demeans the roles of those who actually work in those areas but they (like the military) tend to be very poorly paid anyway.

All of that is why I suggested in my post, a two-year aggregate of service from age 18 to 30, that would not generally interfere with full-time work or education and where it did involve a longer term commitment, like several months of full time training in an initial stage, that that would be paid service.

There would also be a retainer for those serving, spread out over the years of commitment.

The dodging of national service is as old as the idea of national service itself, but it's not beyond the intelligence of appropriate people to design a regime that only allows for exemption on medical grounds. And even then, there are only a few long term medical conditions along with permanent disabilities, that would exempt a person from not being able to contribute in some fashion, to a community or a charitable effort, if not to military service.

There isn't a developed Country in the World that doesn't have a culture of volunteerism and charitable activities, particularly in sectors where the State has no skills base, like maybe animal welfare or practical support for the needs of sufferers of a particular illness.

Your implication that taxpayer funded State services can solve every problem going, is obtuse bullshite.

I see on Air Corps social media there is 4 irish pilots being trained at the UKs Defence Helicopter Flying School. How are they training are pilots while the uk struggles to train there own?

Edit: Turns out very good reason there is room for us

There could be a good opportunity for the air corps to book places for our crews to get trained there for the next few years. Does the course to convert to the 139 take long?

Id say the polish pilot had skid marks when he looked out the window and seen a Rafale next to him

We've fixed that sort of incident by banning nuclear power.....

Fortunately the French have agreed to colour code the electricity we're getting so only the none nuclear variety will be allowed into Ireland.

Due to the SAR thread being locked ill leave this here. Well the IRCG contract looks like it might get messey yet

It was no surprise this decision would be challenged, when certain parties in Kildare Street were openly discussing rejected offers, while the process was still live.

It's against all the rules of public procurement.

You know, looking at the mess of what at the end of the day is a relatively straight forward contract, I can just imagine the level of issues if we were actually tendering for major military equipment... At this rate if/when the MRV or Radar Systems go for tender I can see them being locked up in the courts anyway.

There is no such thing as a relatively straightforward €800 million contract.

It could be for one zillion paper clips and it would still be subject to a bun fight.

Its paywalled but the times have an article today about Joint EU purchases. There seams to be alot of articles on these joint purchases lately. It would be interesting to see what we buy if we did . New APCs or helicopters?

For the Radar maybe one of the Nordic Countrys. As for APCs maybe boxer?

It's a fine idea, but sure the whole notion of extending PESCO participation or entering into scaled procurement is anathema to the eejits who sought to stifle the Forum debates last week.

The best thing the Government could do is quietly sign up to every exploratory opportunity coming up in the EU and deal individually with potential benefits of joint participation as things arise.