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Defence Forces Ireland

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Defence Forces Ireland Reviews

3.1

48% would recommend to a friend

(291 total reviews)

Lieutenant General Seán Clancy

86% approve of CEO

16% positive business outlook

Defence Forces Ireland has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 291 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Defence Forces Ireland employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

291 reviews
1.0
7 Oct 2017

Don't do it

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Time off is good , banter among privates is good , overseas money is good if your willing to spend 6 months away

Cons

Get treated like dirt , basically your a glorified janitor, you come into work and sweep the floor , shred paper , was windows pick up rubbish basically the hightlights of the day ,,you get told on a Friday your going away for a week on Monday regardless of what plans you made with family , as a privet your treated like scum made to feel worthless and stupid, you are working under people who haven't even got a junior cert done with not a brain cell in there head and they are they screaming orders at you , officers are so far stuck up there own hole and look down there nose at everyone else's ,if you make plans with family or friends no matter how important it is you could be sent anywhere on that day and there is noting you an do , imagine promising your child you will be at there school play come to work that morning and your sent to the glen for a week , and nobody cares about the plans you made with family , pay is horrible new privates coming in aren't breaking over 300 do your self a favour go to college get a good job and let all the sad NCOs and officers play there make believe game thinking they are important and are making a difference because when they leave the army they will be serving chips in a chippers cause it's all they will be qaulifed to do and there will be nobody they can bully and shout orders at anymore,,, don't get fooled by the pension either it's white you don't get it till your 65 and it's what 200 a week start paying into a private pension now and you'll have that yourself in 30 years

2.0
13 Aug 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

All medical expenses are covered. Opportunity to learn a trade. Being selected for courses and learning a new skill. Friends for life. Opportunity for overseas. Sense of pride(it's not very regular but it can happen). Maintaining a high level of fitness. Being stationed anywhere except Cathal Bruagh. Junior Officers will usually treat you with the most respect.

Cons

Harassment. Bullying. Favouritism when being selected for courses. 24 hour duties(sometimes two or even three times per week). Many NCO's are constantly angry and abuse power. Very few NCO's will address issues within Companies. Many Officers think that they're God's gift to the Defence Forces. It seems as if people who always bluff and go sick off duties get the easiest positions and employments. A lot of soldiers are working two jobs just to maintain a steady income. It's quite hard to make an actual career. There are many cases of depression, stress and drug abuse which are all swept under the rug. Privates and Corporals are treated like children when it comes to any simple task. Once 2-3 Star training ends and you're sent to your barracks, it all goes downhill. The majority of days are spent on duty, cleaning a locker room or waiting for parade.

1.0
9 Jan 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Education. Friends for life. Old boy network who will do anything for a comrade even if you have never met. Straightforward working environment without snowflake political correctness.

Cons

Pay about 60% of the equivalent private sector job. Risking your life overseas in malaria zones in terrible conditions away from your family. Forced to work hours illegal under the working time directive. Paying up to €100,000 if you leave immediately after doing your degree. Living in crumbling accommodation. Being fed food costing 70% of that served to prisoners in jail. The old pension scheme is gone so private sector pensions are much better. The Department of Defence is where other departments dump their “attitude problem” civil servants who as vengeance for being “wronged” are deliberately destroying the Defence Forces for kicks which has destroyed everybody’s will to live, thus the mass exodus.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 291 Reviews

Glassdoor has 308 Defence Forces Ireland reviews submitted anonymously by Defence Forces Ireland employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Defence Forces Ireland is right for you.