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MINISTER OF STATE with responsibility for Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said it is not “necessary” to cancel a public holiday to provide for increased defence spending.
In an article with the Irish Independent, Carroll MacNeill called for defence spending to be doubled to €3 billion “so we can defend ourselves”.
In the article, she wrote that Denmark last year “cancelled a public holiday that it had had since the 17th century”.
Carroll MacNeill added: “It was cancelled to raise €427 million so it could increase its defence spending more quickly. Denmark is not on the front line but it understands the danger.”
When asked on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland what public holiday she would scrap to finance the increased defence spending, Carroll MacNeill claimed that such a line of questioning was “utterly facetious” and that this was “just an example” of what other countries were doing.
Carroll MacNeill said cancelling a public holiday wasn’t “necessary” but gave this example from Denmark “to show the urgency and increased risks that other countries are experiencing and how they are choosing to react to it”.
“We are so much of an outlier on our defence spend; we don’t need to cancel public holidays to do this but we do need to have a general awareness that this is a necessary change that we need to make and that we need to make it more quickly.”
She added that defence spending is “a really serious part of the national conversation” and that increased spending would “come from general Government expenditure, like all budgetary increases would come from”.
Carroll MacNeill said there is a surplus and the Government should prioritise how this is spent.
“We can’t do that in a year,” said Carroll MacNeill.
“We are building this slowly to get to that figure, we have already increased our defence spend from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion and we need to continue to expedite that increase to get to €3 billion.”
Carroll MacNeill also said there is also a need for increased recruitment to the Defence Forces.
“We have the funds to be able to recruit but what we want to do is tell people what an opportunity it is to be in the Defence Forces,” said Carroll MacNeill.
However, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry said there “needs more money to be spent on housing, not more money spent on guns and ammunition”.
“I would prefer to spend €1.5 billion on 5,000 new houses than I would to spend it on naval ships and combat aircraft,” said Barry.
“There is a housing crisis in this country, not a defence crisis. I think that Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has got her priorities all wrong here.”
Barry added that “Ireland should refuse to participate in the ‘New Cold War arms race’”.
He also called for a “referendum on keeping Ireland out of the race and out of military alliances”.
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Who was the clown talking about the president of peace? The same fella that’s threatening to invade everywhere.
@Alan OConnor: He’s gone very quiet. He also called Trump “The Juggernaut of Peace”. Jesus wept.
@Alan OConnor: No, thats Putin. “A state of the United States is one of the 50 constituent entities that shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside, due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government.[1] Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.”
@Alan OConnor: He uses many profiles: ‘Trump24′ on this article.
@Alan OConnor:
New identity .
@Mary.E.: ‘Peter Igloo’ is another new one of his, I see.
@Alan OConnor: ‘Trump24′ was his name, another gombeen of a Trump supporter.
@Brendan O’Brien: Ah BOB you still moaning I’ve your Iceland Christmas Dinner
@Brendan O’Brien: coincidentally all of the accounts he uses are the ones that I have muted. It’s almost as if they all have something in common
@Alan OConnor: I’m amazed at how and why people think a billionaire has their interests at heart. Given half a chance he’d be as bad as Putin.
@Alan OConnor: He’s crazy. Crazy like a fox.
@Gearoid MacEachaidh: You should mute Troll BOB as well biggest troll on the site.
Europe said nothing when the American armed Israeli’s ethnically cleansed and annexed the land around them so why start now?
Clearly staying on the good side of the US is more important to European leaders than international law or moral standards.
@Rochelle Hart: great point eu doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Greenland to usa as good as done.
@Christopher Ryan: well cuz, the Greenlanders have an opportunity to vote for independence if they want it, if they take that they can join whatever they want, they must of course know that when they get old and they get a serious illness they will lose everything they worked all their lives for and be declared bankrupt and made dependent upon charity while the system consumes their hard earned money. The American way and Herr Drumft is not to be trusted.
@Rochelle Hart: Haha what a load of nonsense! You can’t “annex” land that’s rightfully yours. When Jordan invaded Israel in 1948 they ethnically cleansed every single Jewish person from their ancestral homeland of Judea and Samaria. Jewish communities in places like Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, Gush Etzion etc. were all driven out and their homes were stolen and their cemeteries and synagogues were desecrated. Now, Israelis are able to resettle in the areas that they were driven out of thanks to the IDF who defeated the six Arab armies in 1967 and pushed Jordan out of Judea and Samaria. Also, where’s this “ethic cleansing” exactly by Israel? When Israel took back Judea and Samaria, the Arab population was 550,000 people. Now it’s 2.4 million Arabs. There’s also 2 million Israeli-Arabs also.
@Gerry Ryan: Should Greenlanders also hypothetically have a right to join America as the 51st state if they wish to join through a vote?
@Frank O’Hara: That’s quite a selective interpretation of history and rights
The mad orange lad would be better off focusing on him own country instead of pissing off the international community before he even starts the job.
@Shimo F: What Trump actually said was that if a rogue state invaded it he would defend it. Which USphobias have twisted as usual.
@thomas molloy: why respond to a leading question then…because he wants to create drama….he a real,drama queen
@thomas molloy: I’ll assume you’re a trump fan. How sad are you.
@thomas molloy: when asked directly a reporter asked him if he could rule out force to seize back the Panama Canal or to take over Greenland. “I’m not going to commit to that, no,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago press conference.
@Ted Daly: wow, he’s a trump fan because he quoted him correctly. Jesus wept.
@Shane Kinsella (Kinsey): he didn’t quote him correctly.
The “president of peace” Lol good one
@Mike B: Russian naval activity around Greenland hushed up by anti Trump media.
@thomas molloy: So Russias navy around Greenland gives America the right to claim greenland for Itself?. The Russian navy was near Ireland recently. will America claim us if it comes back?
@Ger Whelan: we are us lapdogs. We do whatever they want always
There they go using big words Donald wont understand like “sovereign”
I read a book years ago ,can’t remember what it was called , But it dealth with an isolated US that had been nuked by the EU , Because they elected a coward who acted like he was a hard man, Who said truth was stranger then fiction
@Robert Halvey:
Jasus, you’d read anything……
@J Cronin: Its a crying shame that the magrats didn’t read more , Then maybe they wouldn’t have elected, The crying lying orange thing
@Robert Halvey: well considering the EU doesn’t have any nukes how did it nuke America. So it’s all still fiction.
@Ger Whelan: Emmm France do?!
@G Bot: Yes France does. The EU doesn’t. The EU doesn’t control the french military or its assets. So the EU cannot nuke anyone as it has no nukes. Also fun fact the country with the most nuclear weapons in Europe is the US.
@Ger Whelan: you did see I said truth is stranger then fiction, But that novel even had jfk brought back to life , To try rescue the US from self annihilation,
@Ger Whelan: Britain would have been in the EU then. I don’t what book is referred to, but in fiction the author can and does make stuff up.
@Brendan O’Brien: was Britain’s nuclear arsenal was under the EU control? Could the EU launch British or French nuclear weapons?
@Ger Whelan: You don’t know what ‘fiction’ means? OK.
@Ger Whelan: that’s not a fun fact
@Ger Whelan: Of course it’s fiction. Did you think he read it in a book and it had already happened? It’s obviously set in the future. I would have thought that was obvious, but apparently, not to you
@Ger Whelan: Yes it does!
@Ger Whelan: I don’t think the EU would be nuking anyone but the point being there are nukes in the EU. If any nukes are ever sent from mainland Europe it will be under NATO control not as a result of national sovereignty
@Ger Whelan: Well the UK have littler, okay technically not the EU anymore but he’s “The Nuke”
@Ger Whelan: France, UK both have nukes. They have them for more than 50 years!
Mexico needs to reclaim Texas and Arizona, and New Mexico and Nevada etc.
@AnthonyK: They all but have, culture wise.
He will protect it from a vicious outside world!!
That’s what Greenland intend doing by telling him where to go with his crackpot off the wall notions.
He is already on very Rocky ground,and will be very lucky to see 6 mths in the W.H.
The 49% that didn’t vote for him will not tolerate 4 yrs of nonsense.
@Mary.E.: They will tolerate it. Otherwise its jail time. Same way the 51% tolerated destructive lefty policies. All that is going to be reversed from the 20th.
@Marvin Dollery: There is no left wing in the US. None!
@Marvin Dollery: what destructive policies exactly?
@Mary.E.: that’s what was said the first time and now look where we are.
Wtf is going on with Trump?
@honey badger: Same as he ever was.
@honey badger:
The deterioration is ongoing.
Poor America.
@honey badger: he’s just crazy, but we’ve known that for years
@honey badger: It’s extra nutty even by his own standards.
@honey badger: dementia
@honey badger: He’s winding them up and they don’t even know it. They will never learn.
Gone from 24 hours to 6 months to stop the war. What a surprise. Id say his fans will be delighted they believed him.
@r k: at that press conference yesterday, he was asked about Ukraine, Syria and so on. He couldn’t answer the questions, not that he wouldn’t, he couldn’t. So that’s why he started waffling about Greenland, Panama and Gulf Of America. He hasn’t a clue.
It is a sad reflection on mainstream media that they are giving so much airtime to this crazy idea that will never happen. Its just a ploy to highlight the GDP donations to NATO and to take away the attention from all his strange policies. The media haven’t even mentioned a possible price.
Is he going to sell Alaska back to its original owners, Russia?
This is going to be a long 4 years
Maga megalomaniac spelt, trump
Pity he wouldn’t threaten to attack an actual enemy of America rather than its allies?
@Steve McGarrett: except he didn’t threaten anything. As usual , go watch the video and then come back. Same crap as last time he was president. Fake news.
Not even in office yet and this very dangerous fool is causing trouble ban Must and X aswell for interfering with other countries democracies
@Eddienowy Byrne: in a weird way its quite smart. Throw in a few grenades, destabilise everyone, get all nations and leaders thinking he’s capable of doing absolutely anything. You can be sure all nations leaders are reviewing how they will try to manage trump, with many thinking subservience is the way to go.
An (n)utter bofoon.
@Patrice Ahern: One of the World’s greatest Comedians and you call him a Buff oon !
Trump most likely is trying to distract from several recent issues, while also indulging his fantasy of being a strongman and throwing his base something and someone else to blame. Distractions from Musk usurping Trump’s public platform, failing to get the backing in Congress for the debt ceiling/funding, the slow slow process of getting his administration officials approved and (most of all) the campaign ‘promises’ he is rowing back on. Always ask what Trump doesn’t want you to focus on, or what to remember.
I didn’t know Lebensraum meant ‘peace’.
Hating US and picking on Trump fogs rational thinking. “To join the United States as a new state, a territory must meet certain requirements and be admitted by Congress:
Population and resources: The new state must have enough people and resources to support its government and pay its share of federal costs
Sympathy for democracy: The new state’s inhabitants must be sympathetic to the principles of democracy in the American Constitution
Majority support: A majority of the electorate in the new state must want to become a state
Historically, new states have been created from organized territories that Congress has created and governed. “
@thomas molloy: you talking Queensbury rules Thomas….
Trump don’t play that way…..if he wants to seize Greenland he can …he doesn’t give a fig for rules or congress or international laws or foreign pearl clutching…
@thomas molloy: How did the Yanks come to occupy Puerto Rico Thomas?
Or Wake Island.
Or Guam.
Or Hawaii.
Or…
@thomas molloy: if Herr Drumft got his way and Canada were to become the 51st state of the Union, then there would never again be a Republican President of the United States because Canada would be heavily in favour of Democrats and have many delegate votes to use. Maybe the GOP would like if he just shut up about Canada.
@thomas molloy: Yes “To join the United States as a new state” not “To be annexed by the USA”. Are those criteria in their Constitution? I suppose even if they were there’s always amendments that can be made if they did need them. When you control the law then you can make anything il/legal.
I welcome this development
@Peter Igloo: what about the price of eggs?
Putin mk2
@Jb Walshe: you believe everything you read ?
I’d say he got the boardgame Risk for Christmas, read the rules about how to conquer the world, and thinks it’s as easy as throwing some die and moving plastic pieces around the world.
Thank God the American people voted for Trump!
@common sense: numpty!
NATO is a crumbling force with one member threatening other members with military force if they don’t get their was as in Greenland. The EU had no military of its own and is defenceless to the might of the US & Russia & China. The EU can’t defend its border’s without a strong military which it badly needs to implement asap.
Trump should focus on annexing Canada first before he turns his eyes to Greenland. Obviously it would be a good move to make Greenland the 51st state, but Canada has no culture and no distinct identity whatsoever. They were literally founded by turncoats in the American War of Independence who fought with the British on the losing side. America and Canada are basically the same country and Trump should get it done.
He’s some bucket of urine toxic
Tongue in cheek.
Can anyone tell me who’s the biggest lunatic. Putin to the East or Trump to the West. Looks like Trump wants to be similar to Putin and start a bit of Land grab, same as Putin.
@Paul Harte: except that’s not what he said. Go look up the actual clip ,
@Paul Harte: not much difference between the 2 of them I’m sorry to say.
@Shane Kinsella (Kinsey): Read it whatever way you want. He said he’d take it forcefully if he wanted. How much different is that to what Putin is doing .
Trump is playing then like a cheap violin. They still don’t get it. He lays the trap and they jump right in with both feet. . Of course he is not going to invade Greenland. This is not a new idea. The US already has a base in Greenland. It’s been discussed many times by previous administration.
Read Trump’s book The Art of the Deal.
He is a master of deal making.
This is his starting point. China Russia and the US are already competing for rights to valuable resources, oil and previous metals in the Artic. All three have naval icebreakers there trying to establish a presence. By now you would think that they know his tactics.
They’ll never learn.
He sure knows how to wind them up.
@Ulick: ah, the auld ‘he’s playing 4-d chess’ argument. Also, the Art of the Deal was ghostwritten.
Who does Trump or Musk think they are, mind their own business and stay out of other countries politics.
I’ve noticed trump making remarks about Greenland but I can’t find any source material where he threaten European borders at all, France political figures have a that history of exaggeration.
@Darran Macken: You might want to read what Trump has said publicly, watch the videos, read his social media statements, etc. If you do more than ‘notice’ he’s talked about Greenland, Panama, Mexico, etc…..that’s the secret.
@Darran Macken: Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark so yes he did threaten European borders
He is such a talented man.
Folks what a nut case this man is. What a lunatic. Presedent of USA. Ohh god help them and probly the world as well. There must be someone out there who can ebd this once and for all. Otherwise he will destroy the world. USA is already done for.
Whoever believes this is the bigger fool.
Like everything reported about . What he said and what the media tell you are two completely different things.
@Shane Kinsella (Kinsey): you keep posting the same comment but we’ve seen the interview, we don’t need to read anything, we saw him and heard exactly what he said.
USAF Shannon not far off(icially) at this rate?
I mean just demand North Dakota in exchange. Or Israel.
This is why The Journal firmly sets itself as a fake news entity, along with its team of fact checkers who live in an echo chambered woke basement based somewhere in the middle of nowhere. This latest news about Donald Trump twisted and distorted to their own political bias. Trump has said nothing of the sort about ‘invading’ Greenland. People need to do their own research. You won’t get any where near the truth relying on crap churned out everyday by The Journal.
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