Co Kildare Army Corporal could be forced to cancel peace keeping missions with real fears family could be soon homeless
By Louise McCarthy
An Curragh Army Corporal planning a peace-keeping mission in Syria fears that his family will soon be homeless.
The Army Corporal whose family is now facing homelessness is stationed at the Curragh for 17 years and is living in Newbridge.
He has been renting with his partner and four children, aged 15 to four, for several years but his landlord is now selling the property. For the past month, the family have been viewing hundreds of houses around Newbridge but have not been offered even one property.
According to Sarah Walsh, spokesperson for the Army Corporal and his family, low wages mean that this family, among others at The Curragh are now qualifying for Housing Assistance Payment, along with a significant amount of soldiers receiving Family Income Supplement.
Ms Walsh, whose husband serves at The Curragh, is deeply concerned that Defence Force members on the most recently updated contracts, introduced in the 1990s, are living in poverty.
According to Ms Walsh there are Defence Forces at The Curragh struggling to pay for nappies and feed their children.
The member of the Wives & Partners of the Defence Forces (WPDF), is now assisting the Newbridge family living under the threat of homelessness. The family are left with no option but remain in Newbridge as their 11-year-old daughter has a medical condition called Apert Syndrome, which is essentially an abnormal fusion of the bones of the hands and feet leading to heart, gastrointestinal and urinary system problems. The child’s Special Needs Assistant is based at The Curragh Camp School and her GP is based in Newbridge.
Ms Walsh said: “It is absolutely terrible, they have looked at so many houses and got no offers.”
There are now appeals to provide accommodation again at The Curragh camp for families of the Defence Forces. Over the last number of years there has been a visible reduction in the allocation of accommodation for Army personnel and families being provided at the Curragh Camp.
Ms Walsh said: “There were four to five bedroom houses available in the camp to families in the past. There are vacant buildings there, some are dilapidated but could do with renovation. No landlord wants to accept this family, on Housing Assistance Payment.”
It is understood that the family have been paying a lower than average rent to the landlord, over the last number of years, on the basis that they were caretaking the house. Now facing high rents in Newbridge, at an average of €1200 a month, the family qualify for Housing Assistance Payment.
According to WPDF,, wages are now too low to maintain a decent quality of life, citing cuts of €130 a week and slashes on the bank holiday and overtime with pay in lieu now the alternative. The closure of a family clinic at The Curragh Camp in 2013, providing free GP care to Army members and their families is now causing hardship according to the WPDF, leaving medical bills that they are unable to meet.
However, according to a spokesperson for Minister of Defence, Paul Kehoe, pay restoration is taking place this year. It is understood that the new Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, which was negotiated recently, contains a proposal for further increases: a 7.25% increase over the period of the agreement for those earning less than €30,000 per annum, a 6.7% increase over the period of the agreement for those earning under €32,000 per annum, and a 5.75% increase over the period of the agreement for those earning more than €32,000 per annum.
An Army Corporal with 17 years service is likely to be earning an estimated €40,000 per annum, while serving overseas missions to places like Chad, Lebanon and Syria are likely to be worth an additional €10,000. The missions typically last about six months and require up to three months training.
It is understood that if the Army Corporal in Newbridge is not successful in finding his family a home, then he will not undertake the peace- keeping mission in Syria this November.