Sir, - Kevin Myers (An Irishman's Diary, February 12th) referred to one of the greatest scandals this country has witnessed - the gradual destruction of the Defence Forces through the proposed White Paper.
I believe the Minister for Defence, Michael Smith TD, should take an immediate decision to reverse the key aspects of the Draft White Paper on Defence. In its current guise, it is a cost-cutting, budget-capping exercise which will suffocate the future of the Defence Forces.
The proposal to further reduce Defence Force numbers from 11,500 to 10,500 is motivated purely by a desire to save money. The Minister seems to think these staff cuts are made acceptable by giving a commitment to reinvest the money in new equipment. This is a crazy assertion, which is like saying you would only invest in new schools if you could lay off 1,000 teachers.
In addition, a force of 10,500 is at the lower limit of a viable security and defence capability and is not acceptable. With this number there is no way we would be able to meet our increased commitments to global peace making.
I am calling on Mr Smith to admit he has got it wrong and to rectify his errors. He should set in motion a review of the White Paper with a full input from the military, civil servants and politicians. It should be a White Paper that we all can stand over and jointly promote.
I believe the best way to achieve this is by establishing a senior group comprised of both civil service and military people to redraft the White Paper. It should include the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Secretary General of the Department of Defence. - Yours, etc., Cllr John Minihan,
National Chairman, Progressive Democrats, Loreto Park, Cork.