Clare no events posted in last week
The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
The Extreme Weather We?re Experiencing Is Not Man Made, According to the IPCC Sun Jul 28, 2024 07:00 | Mark Ellse Day-to-day weather, with all its extremes, is "just weather", according to the IPCC. With their authority onside, we can shrug off the BBC's melodramatic climate reports and misinformation, says Mark Ellse.
The post The Extreme Weather We?re Experiencing Is Not Man Made, According to the IPCC appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Sun Jul 28, 2024 01:17 | Richard Eldred A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech Sat Jul 27, 2024 19:00 | Sean Walsh The sweeping House of Commons reforms proposed by Green MP Ellie Chowns are evidence that the Mrs Dutt-Pauker types have moved from Peter Simple's columns into public life. We're in for a bumpy ride, says Sean Walsh.
The post Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills Sat Jul 27, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred With heat pump numbers forecast to rise, the energy watchdog Ofgem has predicted that bills for those who continue using gas boilers will surge.
The post Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies Sat Jul 27, 2024 15:00 | David Turver So much for Labour's pledge to cut energy bills by £300, says David Turver. Under GB Energy, our bills can only go one way, and that is up.
The post Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
More Troops, Less Jobs at Shannon.
clare |
anti-war / imperialism |
opinion/analysis
Tuesday January 25, 2005 12:24 by Tim Hourigan - MAMA 087-9777703
![Report this post to the editors Report this post to the editors](../graphics/report.gif)
Peace groups object as jobs go, but war stays.
Troops through Shannon up 26% on previous year. Workforce is down 50%.
That's the same workforce who were force- fed the story that their jobs depended on US military use of the airport.
Other lies surround the economic arguments of US Military use of Shannon Airport. FIGURES released this month by the Dept of Foreign Affairs show that 158,549 US troops passed through Shannon Airport in 2004 (compared to 125,855 in 2003)
The figures indicate that these troops arrived on 1,502 flights (which would be the chartered American Trans Air [ATA], North American, and World jets seen daily at Shannon) and that also there were 753 military aircraft (i.e. officially declared marked aircraft such as the Hercules, C-9s and C-40s) and also 816 'aircraft carrying munitions' which would basically cover the chartered cargo flights operated by Evergreen International and other charter companies, carrying weapons and explosives through a civilian international airport.
Contrast this dramatic increase in business to the dramatic decrease in staff at Shannon, where 260 of the 520 staff are expected to lose their jobs.
During the peak of the opposition of US military use of Shannon, some of the workers spoke out against servicing military aircraft, but they were told time and again by their bosses and the government, that
their jobs depended on the US military dollar at Shannon.
Yet, after keeping a lid on Shannon's darker activities, and watching record military business, half of them are facing the chop because of Government decisions, not the actions of peaceniks.
On ex-worker described a 'climate of fear' in the airport, where workers were expected to keep quiet about what came through the airport and “just give em the food and fuel”.
Some threatened to boycott work on military flights, as illegal and immoral work. According to the former worker, they were told that they would be sacked for this, and that the unions would not back them up.
Another current worker, speaking on condition of anonymity "said that the US military flights at Shannon are treated like royalty". Although the troops represent only 6% of passenger figures, 95% of the security costs are from the military flights.
They have their own gate at the airport - Gate 42- which is reserved
for the military, and it has had special fences and guard cabins erected, and regularly has armed Garda stationed there, as well as a recently installed hi-tech 'invisible barrier' that uses microwave beams to detect motion around the perimeter near the enclosed military stand. There are also specially fenced off and illuminated parking areas in the centre of the airfield for cargo flights carrying ‘uninspected items’ for the Pentagon. These are regularly guarded by the Irish Army and Garda Siochána. The likes of Aer Lingus and Ryanair only see a security van as it passes them by going from the military cargo area to the troop flights.
Official figures repeatedly refer to ‘revenue’ of over €18 million from the military business. But revenue is merely income before profit, and when the costs are removed, the military business is costing the taxpayer plenty. Firstly, there’s the €3 million euros in Air Traffic Control fees that the Pentagon refused to pay last year, and which was paid instead by the Irish Dept of Transport. Then there’s the extra security for the military. The new cameras and motion detectors are not cheap and the extra garda and army overtime cost is estimated at over 20 million (about half of which was on the weekend of the Bush visit to Clare). When these costs are considered, the US military landings at Shannon, are sucking money OUT of the tax coffers, not putting them in.
If the government’s attitude to Shannon doesn’t change it could well end up like Prestwick in Scotland. Prestwick is large modern airport, with its own train station. It was previously busy, but following government policy changes, most of its business comes from Ryanair, and the US and Israeli military.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (8 of 8)