IRELAND
A former senior army officer claims civilian officials in the Irish Department of Defence are interfering with operational issues.
Retired Brigadier General Ger Aherne made his comments in the aftermath of a row over two Naval Service ships being tied up for refits due to manpower shortages.
The former senior officer said he had read correspondence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that detailed the fallout from a question asked by a newspaper about the “hibernation” of LÉ Orla and flagship LÉ Eithne.
The Defence Forces drafted a reply to the question, which Department officials took issue with, saying that Public Service–military roundtable talks should take place before any operational decision was made.
Prior to this stage, the Flag Officer commanding the Naval Service, Commodore Michael Malone (pictured) issued a communiqué via an internal newsletter in which he said more than 500 personnel had left the Service in the past five years, creating huge pressure on those who remained to get fully manned ships to sea.
As a result of this, he proposed “cutting our cloth to measure”, and took the two ships out of service and sent them for refits.
Commodore Malone said he had made the decision regarding the ships in the interests of health and safety.
The crews of both vessels were sent to serve on other ships.
However, Minister for Defence, Paul Kehoe said the ships were being tied up purely for routine maintenance and refused to comment on the issue of manpower shortages also being at the heart of the decision.
Mr Aherne said decisions made by senior military personnel such as Commodore Malone were operational, “which were a matter for the military and not the Department”.
He suggested that in the past there had been some political interference, “but it has become more manifest in recent years”.
“Nobody in the higher echelons of the Department has ever served in the Permanent Defence Forces and therefore operational matters should be left to the experts — senior commanders in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps,” Mr Aherne said.
Dublin, 23 August 2019
