They’re Serious, We're Serious: Disband the Army - says Allen Meagher

The Government called in July 2013 for submissions on the future role of the ROI's Defence Forces. 
'Changing Ireland' editor Allen Meagher called for their near-abolition after the Celtic Tiger died and the Community & Voluntary Sector began to take the brunt of the worst budget cuts from 2009 onwards. 
Even today, those wishing to join NATO could endorse this proposal. Iceland is a NATO member. Where is Iceland's army? It doesn't have one.

Meagher's original article:

It would have been inconceivable a year ago to propose something as drastic as this, but the harm caused by closing down community resources to the degree proposed by the Government’s Bord Snip report is greater than the loss we’d incur by disbanding the army, navy and air corps:

Colm McCarthy missed an opportunity: Follow Iceland’s example and disband the army, navy and air corps.

Iceland maintains a small coastguard service and is a member of NATO without contributing personell.

The Department of Defence spends €1billion per annum out of the State’s budget total of €45billion. Well, we’ve never been at war with anyone, the border is gone, the UN will get by without our military expertise and the banks can hire armed escorts privately.

I’m serious. And I’m in no way taking from good work carried out by the Defence Forces over the years. I do say, however, that given the near-bankrupt state of the nation’s finances, the Department of Defence is not critically important to our development. The Community Sector is.

The people that need to be won over are not Government members, but the general public. We need as a nation to start thinking and acting outside the box, preferably in a collective spirit.

Just like most nation-states like to establish a national museum, a national anthem and a national symbol, most also have a national army. Costa Rica saw the light in 1949 and got rid of its army.

Many armies are of next-to-no practical use and since 1922, we’ve thrown money at Defence.  Today, there is little evidence of positive outcomes for our €1billion spend on Defence.

Take a look yourself! There are six elements to the ‘service’ provided by the Department of Defence that everyone from the Minister of Defence to the soldiers’ representative body cite to justify the funding. None of them stand up to scrutiny and there is a seventh service neither side likes to mention.

Last year, the Defence Forces provided 2200 escorts for bank cashvans. This is not Defence. Privatise it and let the banks pay in full.*

Last year, the Defence Forces were called out 180 times to deal with explosive ordinance finds. This work should be privatised or handed over to a special agency.**

Last year, we had 760 personnel serving on 14 overseas missions. We should bring them home and offer non-military expertise instead, like Germany did until recently. (Or send out development workers, as we did for over 20 years through APSO).

Last year, the Defence Forces provided 118 prisoner escorts. Again, not the job of an army.

Last year, the Defence Forces provided “732 Public Building Patrols”. How many were Defence installations? Once disposed of, we won’t have to patrol them. As for every other public buildings, police patrols would suffice.

Last year, the Defence Forces provided “Aid to the Civil Power” functions on an unspecified number of occasions. With regard to the protection afforded to illegal CIA flights through Shannon Airport, as previously documented by the EU, this was never the intended role of our sovereign national army.

And, last year, the Defence Forces provided 113,000 helicopter rides for senior and junior Government Ministers. (I made that last figure up because I couldn’t get those stats, which makes enough of a point in itself).

Another couple of points about the army in particular. The Government has paid out close to €50m in ‘border allowances’ to our troops since 1999. The army has not patrolled the border for a decade.

Despite all this, Colm McCarthy’s board recommended a relatively modest cut of €53 million out of the €1 billion budget. McCarthy followed a right-wing agenda when someone else might have demonstrated imagination and flair.

By this stage, if you’re in the army – and maybe you agree with me on what I’m saying – you should now understand how people volunteering and working their hearts out in the Community Sector feel.

Community workers protested nationwide in 2009 and 2010 and are reportedly preparing for protests once again.

State support for the Community Sector is being dismantled and many workers face becoming voluntary activists and dole-claimants within a matter of months. Funding to the Community Sector will be cut by around €250m out of around €500m (the figures depend on how widely you define Community work).

We don’t need a Department of Defence at a time of economic woe, not half as much as we need a vibrant Community Sector.

The OECD already ranks Ireland as one of the worst (22nd out of 27 developed nations) when it comes to poverty and inequality.

If what’s threatened comes down the line, there are communities in every county of this State that will become unviable, no-go, no-hope areas populated by thousands of internal refugees, denied either a choice or a chance in life.

Cut Defence funding to nearly nil and we’ll get through. Cut the Community Sector’s funding and you abandon a nation: Volunteering in communities is valued nationally at anywhere between €500m-€750m and we’re undermining this resource.

In recent months, Community activists have led a campaign from the bottom up, organised themselves locally and nationally, unionised, networked and are working closely with those who value what they do. We’re not as well organised as an army, or the farmers, but the work we do does save lives.

Campaigners are fighting so communities remain viable and they want to retain the Department of Community Affairs. (McCarthy proposed doing away with DCRGA).

I’m probably talking to the converted, but we need to show leadership ourselves, to start thinking outside the box and, working harder and pointing to alternatives, both locally and nationally.

There are more ways to save money than impoverishing a generation and other sources of revenue the Government should look at.

* For 19 years, this escort service was provided to bank cashvans for a nominal fee and they still don’t pay in full for the service. 

The above article was first published by 'Changing Ireland' in the Winter 2009/'10, Issue 30/31 double edition which is available online (page 40) at: http://issuu.com/changingireland/docs/issue30?e=5348326/3391182