Aontu leader - Peadar Tóibín has stated that needing foreign military help to secure a major defense summit on Irish soil highlighted stark underinvestment and exposed the gap between the government's rhetoric and actual defense capabilities, This has come to light as Minister for Defence Helen McEntee has defended Ireland’s security spending in the face of repeated questions at an informal gathering of EU defence ministers in Wicklow organised as part of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of Europe. It emerged that a Royal Navy warship and helicopter is providing security backup at the event.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has also said the Government needs to stop wasting taxpayers money and called for temporary cuts to fuel prices to be made permanent. Aontú is preparing for its annual think-in in Co Derry on Saturday.
Mr Tóibín said fuel is a stable, and not a luxury, good and that it was astounding that there are half a million people in energy arrears in the country.
the Meath West TD said the Government is overspending by around a rate of between €4bn and €5bn a year and savings could be found there.He said: \"In terms of capital infrastructure spends last year there was about €1.6bn of overspend.\"There's a complete lack of accountability in that sector. There's an enormous amount of waste.
\"Indeed, I would say the Government is incinerating taxpayers' money at a rate in those terms.\"And even in health, we know that in health, the overspend so far this year is about €500m, which is quite incredible.\"
Mr Tóibín said a recruitment embargo for administrative staff in the health service would save €250m a year.