Irish Defence Forces remove obsolete items. Stock image
The LE Eithne. Photo: Paul Sherwood
More than €60,000 worth of military equipment, including old Irish Tricolours, boxing mitts, body armour and even anti-fungal foot powder, was lost, damaged beyond repair, or considered obsolete by the Defence Forces over the past year.
During the same period, the Department of Defence said only a single sale of old military property had taken place.
It raised €47,635 from the decommissioning of three former Navy vessels which were towed to a ship recycling facility in Belgium.
The three boats — the LÉ Eithne, LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara — could have raised more on the open market.
However, a decision was made to have them scrapped instead, amid fears they could end up in the hands of a warlord — as had happened to the former vessel LÉ Aisling after it changed hands multiple times following its sale by the department
The Defence Forces said almost 11,000 individual items had been written off or had gone missing last year with a value totalling €61,489.
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 22nd September 2024
Most of the items had relatively low value and the most expensive equipment discarded was €12,000 worth of ballistic plate body armour kit.
There were also numerous Irish flags disposed of, including a 21-foot Tricolour worth €85 and two 12-foot flags with a value of €259.
Items from the Covid-19 pandemic were deemed of no further use, including just over €2,000 worth of disposable face masks and full-face visors with a value of €1,375.
Some of the more curious items on the inventory included lip screen sun protection, boxing mitts, a Dictaphone, and anti-fungal foot powder.
Ceremonial items were also disposed of with 20 Defence Forces belts and 20 bands dumped.
Other kit on the inventory included stab jackets, diving hoods and diving masks.
Asked about the records, a spokesman said: “Military equipment deemed lost, damaged beyond use or uneconomical to repair or no longer in use by the Defence Forces are removed from use as per [our] regulations.”
