The partners of Defence Forces members are holding a 24-hour vigil outside Leinster House.

They are demanding better pay & conditions for personnel in the army, naval service and air corps.

The group 'Wives and Partners of the Defence Forces' is organising the protest, as enlisted members are barred from speaking out.

WPDF says pay levels are so low that many families rely on social welfare supplements to get by.

Sheila - whose fiancé is in the naval service - says she struggles to make ends meet.

She observed: "There's weeks where - I'm not ashamed to say - I've sat and I've cried in my kitchen because it's like... 'what do I do?'

"It just seems wrong. It really seems wrong. Nobody who is serving their country should be relying on a social welfare payment to make ends meet."