Letters to the Editor: Ireland cannot spend €25.5bn on defence
'This amount would see us outspending the Netherlands and Spain, both of which have far bigger armed forces.'
Lieutenant Colonel Conor King, general secretary of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco), mentions Ireland’s low level of defence expenditure (‘Ireland’s defence spend of 0.2% labelled a ‘bad joke’, Irish Examiner, June 27). He then mentions Nato’s commitment to increase its spending to 5%.
While I agree that the Defence Forces are understaffed and their equipment needs upgrading, surely it is he that is joking in thinking Ireland should spend 5% of its GDP on the military.
