Sir, - How is it that Mr Murray (July 24th), believes all the difficulties of the Health Service can be solved by the pilfering of the £250 million from the Defence Forces that has been budgeted for the purchase of military armoured personnel carriers and helicopters.
The armoured personnel carriers are for use on UN missions, either independent of, or as part of the EU-led Rapid Reaction Force and only if the Dβil sanctions their deployment. The purchase of this equipment is not "bordering on a criminal waste of resources", it is necessary for protecting the lives of Irish soldiers on UN missions.
If we do not give the Defence Forces the tools they need then we are not living up to our responsibilities as members of the international community which requires properly equipped peacekeepers when crises like Bosnia or Macedonia raises their ugly heads. Ill-equipped Irish peacekeepers will quickly become dead Irish soldiers. - Yours, etc.,
Niall Keogh, Glasheen, Cork.