According to the 2024 Defence Policy Review, prepared by the Department of Defence, Ireland faces significant security threats similar to those of its European neighbours despite its long-standing policy of military neutrality.
The review calls for enhanced security measures, particularly in the maritime and cyber domains, and increased cooperation with international partners.
The review makes it clear that Ireland cannot rely solely on its neutral stance to avoid modern security challenges. “We face similar threats and challenges as other states who support the rules-based international order,” the report states. It warns that while the likelihood of a land invasion is low, Ireland remains “vulnerable to hybrid and related threats that attack our security and our democracy.”
A key focus of the review is on maritime security, stressing that Ireland’s extensive maritime domain is “one of the largest in Europe,” but its current defence posture is insufficient. The report calls for “immediate investment” in both maritime and air capabilities to address these gaps.
The review points to recent Russian naval activity off Ireland’s west coast and the broader context of Russia’s actions in Ukraine as significant factors influencing Ireland’s security environment, although it stops short of naming Russia as a direct threat.
Despite these concerns, the review reaffirms Ireland’s commitment to military neutrality, stating that the country will remain “militarily neutral but internationally engaged; non-aligned but a proactive part of the multilateral system.” The report advocates for continued participation in EU defence initiatives and emphasises the importance of cooperation with like-minded nations.
One of the review’s critical recommendations is the development of a comprehensive military radar capability, described as a “national priority,” to enhance Ireland’s ability to monitor and defend its maritime and airspace.
The report also calls for an increase in the Defence Forces’ numbers, particularly in the Naval Service and Air Corps, to better address the challenges of today’s security environment. It stresses the need for Ireland to modernise its defence capabilities and to be prepared to operate alongside international partners.
In summary, the Defence Policy Review sets out a vision for a more robust and responsive defence strategy, emphasising the need for “a modern, agile, fit-for-purpose Defence Force operating fully in line with Defence policy in order to defend Irish sovereignty, protect Irish citizens and secure Irish interests.”
Can’t see anything changing in the short to medium term to be honest.
The history of the Irish Civil War still plays a part it seems, although 100 years later I suspect it is more of an excuse. They need to move on and stop freeloading off their neighbours.
Sounds harsh but with very significant telecommunications assets running through their territory they have a responsibility to the wider European and international community. Ukraine should be a warning to them.
Cheers CR
I can’t see how the civil war plays any part in them not even having basic radar. It’s all an excuse for free loading while engorging themselves on the tax revenue of countries across Europe Asia and Africa.
I could stomach that but not when they then try and play themselves as some sort of moral crusaders for their stance on unarmed neutrality.
As if neutrality defeated the nazi’s.
No but it kept some safe post WW2, which is something Ireland tends to keep very quiet about.
Very quiet
Meanwhile, Finland, despite having recently joined NATO, set the benchmark for what a ‘neutral’ 5.5million population can do for itself militarily. Robust.
Ireland’s history attaches it to its neutrality. It’s part of its identity, differentiating the Republic from its imperial protestant neighbour and symbolic still of the Celtic Christianity which evangelised Scotland and the North of England. A proud history. Ireland was quick to recognise Palestine; moral leadership or just the instinct to side with fellow victims? A changed Ireland has embraced divorce, same sex marriage and abortion. I would say its time to move on and make a fair contribution to European defence.
Agreed Paul,
Sadly for us all, times have changed and continue to change and not in a good way. Ireland needs to realise two things. One it’s geolocation means that it is of strategic importance in any Euro Atlantic War and that cannot change. Secondly, there are countries out there who would dearly like to stick it to the West, who are developing their military capability and who might not be above exploiting Ireland’s poor defence posture in some way.
They need to take responsibility for their own defence and in so doing contribute to collective security.
Cheers CR
Moral leadership? Are you really serious?
When Ukraine requested some of our small stock of anti tank weapons, much of it obsolete and the rest quickly approaching end of life, our woke govt refused during Ukraine’s darkest hour and direst need. In my opinion that displayed our governments abject moral bankruptcy.
Also if you believe that recognising a terrorist, genocidal, homophobic, misogynistic state, such as that led by or sympathetic to Hamas, as moral leadership, then I seriously question your own morality. You must be equally sympathetic to or supportive of Iran torturing and killing its women over hijabs, North Korean “re-education camps”, China’s genocide of Uyghurs, Pol Pot’s “year zero”, and maybe old Adolf himself.
We should be ashamed but unfortunately we are proud of our nations ignorance and moral bankruptcy.
It was rhetorical of course; the abuse of a proud history for political advantage.
Furthermore, the level of hypocrisy of Ireland is just simply staggering. We proudly support equality in our own society but actively support the treatment of women as second class citizens and the imprisonment and torture of LGBTQ by a regime that openly supports the genocide of Jews. A clear example of hypocritical Woke stupidity.
Unfortunately, you Brits now seem to be following our lead. The Tories may have been incompetent but they weren’t evil. Let’s see if Labour choose to be.
BOOM.
Early indications are that Labour will avoid getting woke head banging. Was interesting to listen to Lisa Nandy’s reaction to the Imane Khelif controversy. To paraphrase what she said ..”biology is obviously important. It’s a difficult challenge to reconcile the biology with the requirements for inclusion and fairness. It varies from sport to sport so the best people to decide are the governing bodies of the sports.” Very slick conflict avoidance. 🙂 . Sebastian Coe, president of world athletics, says it’s important to ‘protect the category of women’. My sense of it is that the tide is turning on this woke gender ideology thing.
Improving the radar coverage of the Republic would seem a reasonable step; Ireland has a very advantageous corporate tax regime and is the reason international companies have their ‘European’ headquarters in Eire; therefore the finance is available.
As for the rest – air and sea surveillance at the sophisticated levels and international co-operation such as are required to be effective – this is politically impossible for the foreseeable future.
I think they should take into consideration how central the south of Ireland is to the working of the Internet (half of the total electricity supply is taken up by Server farms) and the position of Ireland to Western Europe. Both these could attract an aggressive state trying to gain an strategic advantage over the West.
Switzerland is neutral. However, for their relatively small size, they have a very decent air force, comprising F-5’s and F-15A’s/E’s standing QRA 24/7. Their intention now is to purchase a number of F35A’s. They also have an effective Early warning/Air Defence radar and are set to further develop their GBAD system. So what’s Ireland’s excuse?
Ireland geographically is nowhere important. It has nothing nobody wants in terms of resources. Nobody is going to grab it without somebody intervening.
Costa Rica has no armed forces. Ireland is neutral at the moment. If the EU heads towards becoming a state I doubt it can remain so.
Despite fisheries protection and customs at sea they don’t need much of a navy. And counter terrorism and contributing to international efforts is the only reason for land forces.
You never need anything, until you do. Then it is usually an “Oh Sh*t” situation.
If the EU becomes a state then Ireland is by defacto aligned to the EUs defence policy.
don’t worry nobody alive today will be alive by the time that ever happens, if it ever happens. You can see that every day in the vast array of foreign policies for example, or a hundred and one other differences.
I’m not worried, in fact a EU state would be the best thing that could happen to Europe. And nobody thought it would happen in 1787 either.
Well Napoleon and that Austria water colourist thought so.
No large multi ethnic state is ever entirely settled.
Yawn, that’s such a shit bad faith argument. If that’s all you have you can fuck off frankly.
In case there’s any doubt, there’s a difference between violent conquest, and peaceful unification (and the United States points against your argument, since that’s a multi-ethnic state).
Is what I said surely?
Switzerlands QRA isn’t 24/7…incredibly its office hours only…
I thought that was changing and it was going 24/7. Seem to recall something about this last year when a Swiss detachment were training at Leeming……
I wonder if they would soon be interested in buying a few tranche 1 typhoons that are well suited to QRA and air defence and that a very close neighbour currently plans to sell off well before they are life expired?
Oh – and I’m pretty sure that neighbour would be happy to do a deal that includes training, weapons and deep maintenance all a short flight away from their new home 🙂
I would like to see the defence review have a section on Ireland. BAE is lobbying the UK to replace T1 with new. That could be an outcome of the defence review. But a cheaper type might be more relevant to Ireland. What’s the replacement for Hawk, Aeralis – could you fit ASRAAM? Would RAF Typhoons at Aldegrove make more sense or be more or less acceptable? How about a shared fleet of C295 MPAs? Or getting the Irish Navy back to sea with another RFA Proteus?
The site already has a Europe section, why a separate section for Ireland, particularly with how relatively little new subject matter the section would have, I mean it would mainly be the same comments by the usual posters, with little discussion about what actually might be happening, I mean just look at your suggestions, literally none of that makes sense for Ireland (and little of it for the UK)
No there is beyond zero chance of such a transfer, I have no idea why it keeps getting brought up.
I read an article that said that Spain modernised its T1 Eurofighters for 6 million Euros per plane. So for 144 million Euros the RAF could modernise 24 T1 Eurofighters. Even allowing for inflation it is still under 200m. A bargain I would have thought.
The Spanish upgrade of their T1’s was very limited. They were also playing catch up as the UK had modestly upgraded capabilities on the RAF T.1
In other words, for 200m we could have 24 T1s upgraded to something better than the Spanish specification. Seems a complete no brainer to me, given the desperately low numbers of combat aircraft the RAF has been reduced to. So obviously it won’t happen.
Ireland has no excuse ,it’s defence is a priority, Atlantic cables run from Ireland and yet no preparation to protect them,there is no excuse, STEP UP TO THE PLATE
Yes. Though I believe the majority of undersea cables actually bypass to the south of Ireland. They make landfall primarily in Cornwall.
Thanks for that daniele,I knew some of the cables ran from Ireland but Cornwall is the point of origin and the cables must be like spaghetti junction, 😆, I believe the Russians tried their luck a while ago off the coast of Ireland, thank god they were being watched and little warning to them ,TAMPER WITH THE CABLES GET BLOWN UP 😀
Hi David. You’re correct, some do. Yes, we had an article about it here, that Russian group sitting right on top.
One of the things Sunak got right, he was warning of the vulnerability of the undersea infrastructure long before it became fashionable.
But people seem to forget the landward side, the CLS.
There are plenty of maps available showing the network. Some of the CLS, Cable Landing Stations, have appeared on US lists of CNI that would harm the US, and us, with their being disabled.
Laughably, some of these CLS, and the beaches where the cables come ashore before heading inland are supposed to be “secret” which is a bit daft as I know all of them.
One location, close to Lands End, I drove inside the gate and stopped right outside, because I could, there were no keep out signs or even any signs whatsoever. There was no obvious security. These places, on the landward side, also need greater security.
There is a great video on Youtube I can recommend, “The Secrets of Cornwall” by Mark Thomas, tracking the network and its links to our own intelligence apparatus.
WOW,THAT IS SOMETHING I DIDN’T KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THAT ,CHEERS
Watch that vid mate, you’ll learn A LOT.
How do you know that you know all of them?
Known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknows… 😆
I love that saying. Sounds really rediculous until you stop and think about what it is really saying – then it gets pretty profound as, if you think do about it, it shine a light on the potential for blissful ignorance.
Cheers CR
Hi Jon. Ok , figure of speech if we are going to be picky or literal, as I’m talking of commercial Cable Landing Stations.
Answer, because I have a list of them! They are not secret, just not widely publicised.
But OK, if we are being really picky here, maybe there are some ultra secret CLS that are not used by the international telecoms providers but by HMG/and or the intelligence community, and I of course would likely not have a clue about them.
Want a list? Here.
Apollo North / C&W / GERONTIC / Bude / Access – “LATUS”
Apollo South / C&W / GERONTIC / Bude / Access – “ARCANO”
TAT 14 / BT, C&W, VZB / REMEDY / Bude / Access – “HIASCO”
Atlantic Crossing 1.
SeaMeWe 3 / BT / REMEDY / Goonhilly / Access – “NUMDAH 2 & 3”
SeaMeWe 4 / VzB, FT / DACRON / No Uk Landing /
FLAG EA / Reliance Glo Com / GERONTIC / Porthcurno / Access – “NIGELLA”
FLAG Atlantic 1 / Reliance Glo Com / GERONTIC / Access – “NIGELLA”
Circe North. / Viatel / VITREOUS / Lowestoft /
Circe South. / Viatel / VITREOUS / Pevensey /
SOLAS / Eircom, C&W / GERONTIC / Oxwich Bay / Access – “MONDELLO”
UK France 3 ( C&W ) / GERONTIC / Brighton /
UK France 5 ( Farland 2 ) / BT / REMEDY / Cheriton
UK Germany 6 / BT, C&W, + / REMEDY / Access – ? / Scarborough
UK Netherlands 14. / BT, C&W, BTN / GERONTIC or
REMEDY / Winterton on Sea /
Ulysses 1. VZB / DACRON / St Margarets Bay /
Ulysses 2 / VZB, BT, FT. KPN / DACRON / Lowestoft /
AC 1. / Global Crossing / PINNAGE / Whitesands Bay, Sennen /
Yellow – AC 2. / Global Crossing & L3 / LITTLE &
PINNAGE / Bude /
Pan European Crossing / Global Crossing / PINNAGE / Broadstairs /
HIBERNIA / Hibernia / VITREOUS, LITTLE / Southport /
TGN Atlantic N / Tata Comms / REMEDY / Highbridge /
TGN Atlantic S / Tata Comms / REMEDY / Pottington /
Tangerine / LITTLE / Broadstairs /
CANTAT 3 / Tata, BT / REMEDY / Redcar /
Concerto 1 North / Interoute / STREET CAR / Alderburgh
Concerto 1 South / Interoute / STREETCAR / Alderburgh
Farland 1 / BT / REMEDY / Alderburgh
BT-TE1 / BT / REMEDY / Holyhead /
EIG / C&W / GERONTIC / ? / Access – “VISAGE”
GLO1 / C&W, Globacom / GERONTIC / Access – ? ( S West )
UK-IRELAND ( GX ) / PINNAGE / ?
Sirius ( S West )
ESAT1 ( Sennan Cove )
ESAT2 ( Southport )
There you go.
When they say Bude, do they mean Morwenstow with those angry guards from GCHQ sitting on top of it?
They? That list is my own creation mate.
And no. The GCHQ Morwenstow site is not the location of the “Budes” that I list, those CLS, three or even four of them, are all in the area.
Re GCHQ, the Bude site is the location of RPC-1 that is involved with bulk collection of cable data.
Just of note, what I list here, and above, is old, out of date, publically available information, with codes no doubt long since changed.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out who Gerontic are as the ownership of the various CLS are known.
Jon asked how I know all of them, mat be I don’t, but it shows just how serious this cable infrastructure is and how many there are that make landfall in the UK.
GB is brilliantly placed.
It’s interesting to see how global comms are really still prisoners of geography. I only mentioned GCHQ because the Cheltenham site was deliberately placed over a major node of telegraph and phone lines. Thought they may have done something similar in Cornwall.
There are no coincidences with placement of these locations.
On Morwenstow, another primary reason was that the site mirrored the first UK Civilian SATCOM site at Goonhilly, much further south, and SATCOM collection still seems to be a primary role given the increasing number of antenna, including a newer Taurus, close to the main gate.
Though given it’s proximity to the Atlantic cables that come ashore in the area, I’ve suspected for years Morwenstow was connected with cable interception, long before the Snowden revelations confirmed what was already obvious.
Angry guards? Have you visited?
They were ok when I was there. 😆
Yes, I was unaware back in the day that GCHQ was anywhere else but the at least 2 sites in Cheltenham. Seeing the domes on the headland was flame to a moth so up we drove. The access road (small lane, tight bends and a ford) just raised further questions about how they got all that stuff up there. Parked up by a strange little crescent of council houses. There were a lot of cameras following us about as we walked the fence line. Eventually a man with an MP5 came, asked what we wanted. I asked what they did there and he replied “get back in your car and fuck off”. So we went and watched Terrorvision in Newquay instead. On the way out I caught a glimpse of windows in what I thought was the cliff face, so they clearly have extensive offices there.
Ha! I remember the council houses! Awkward for them.
Yes, you cannot miss the place, all the way down at Widemouth Bay it’s visible.
My uncle has been in on deliveries, everyone he met was an American, which makes sense given the hand in glove nature of GCHQ, NSA.
Cheers.
Widemouth bay is the next one along, when you go down the hill from the site you get to a little bridge and a narrow lane off to the right takes you to Duckpool Bay, it’s nicer there as is free to park up and stay the night.
Good to know. Been to Bude many times, as I have family from north Devon.
How close to Morwenstow is Duckpool Bay?
Ok, I looked myself rather then being lazy, it’s right next door.
Looks very off the beaten track, I’d have never known it was even there.
One to visit.
Wow, you have family from North Devon ? whereabouts ? I love visiting there . Duck pool is great in the winter when the storms come in, I’ve spent some rather epic nights being tossed about by nature’s full force there. Also on the N Devon coast at the top of Combe Martin and further o towards Somerset.
A small hamlet near Holsworthy.
Nanny and Grandad moved down there from saaarf London in 69.
All us grandkids would go yearly to stay on their farm.
An Auntie, Uncle and cousins are still in Devon.
On that farm, TWU Hawks from Chivenor would fly low over the cottage every Wednesday and Friday. Nanny went ballistic, but I loved it.
One time I never forget, 7 Tornado, assume GR1s, though at the time I thought them F3s, flew over low, line astern.
When we had fast air by the hundreds….
I almost wet myself with excitement.
🤪
I parked up in that crescent a few years ago just to have a break, sparked up the old Laptop to see where I was and to check the latest XNXX Videos and all of a sudden I was presented with an angry weapon.
No seriously, I just made it all up, there is no way I would park up or even live there whilst searching for anything like that, heck even the residents of Pitcairn are’nt safe from GCHQ !!!!!
Sorry, I just know this is all sort of David Brent level humour but I can’t help myself at times !!!!😎
Have you ever had a chat with MDP?
I list Menwith, Corsham (CCC) and Boscombe amongst my “little chats”
They were rightly quite arsey at Corsham, but quite friendly at the other two.
No idea who provides security at Bude.
It’s a strange place, I go past it quite often when camping at Duckpool Bay which is to the west down the steep narrow hill. Never seen any armed guards though.
Regarding the answer you gave to the guard, I would have said I was foraging for mushrooms and a local farmer told me there were some gurt big puff balls on yonder hill. It would show if they had a sense of humour.
😆
Hi David! Are you the same David Owen that acted as Secretary of State in a Labour Government and was one of the founding fathers of the SDLP😉
Alas no,but I can be if you wish it 😆 🤣 😂
can you be John Smith please, I fancy a Pint ?
😂
Do you want pork scratchings with that 😋
Personally I don’t think he is given that he died a few years back now but, who knows in the current age of the Internet ?
Nothing will change in Ireland. Those who have a modicum of interest in anything military, probably thinks they do enough, sending Irish Soldiers for UN duty.
Other than that, there is little to no enthusiasm to do anything else militarily. The Irish ‘Navy’, only has 1,000 or so personnel. The fact they barely have enough crew at any one time for 1 Naval Vessel, speaks volumes.
It should be noted that Ireland participated in a NATO subsea security exercise in Portugal this year.
A Irish Navy Divers team was sent to train with underwater surveillance drones that Ireland has acquired. This is one of the many group projects that Ireland has with NATO due to the updated partnership agreement signed earlier this year.
😅
The Irish won’t do sod all, they’ll continue to take but not give and remain utterly helpless while their population goes about its business unburdened by paying for their nations defence.
Hi PGS. Surely that should be..the Irish WILL do sod all or alternatively, ..the Irish won’t not do sod all? Cheers from Durban 😉
hey Geoff- how are tricks Mate?
Talk is cheap.
A fairly pointless document as the Irish defence budget for the period 2022 to 2027 is all but set in stone. It’s main purpose seems to be to allow the Irish Department of Defence to go “we warned you …” if there is major national security incident in the next few years, e.g. Russian ships and subs destroying underwater cables and pipelines located in the Irish EEZ.
That’s not a certainty, the GE is likely in the next 12 weeks, so new government by the start of the new year, who makes that up and what they want means will set that out to beyond 2027. FG’s Junior defence minister is currently making noise about going to the LoA3 spend for example, and given shes been at it for weeks now, that is likely a FG position.
Besides which the DOD doesn’t say “we warned you” the DOD says “its all those scum in the DF fault, lets hire some more Civil Servants”
Yep, the DOD would do that.
General Seán Clancy’s appointment to the head of EUMC tells me that the EU is putting more of a spotlight on Ireland’ defence affairs. Its quite the chair they pulled out for him.
It’s certainly a surprise, but it clears the decks of the DF for the changeover to the Air Force and Navy if that gets finished before the GE, or carried through afterwards.
>That’s not a certainty, the GE is likely in the next 12 weeks
You seem to have an inside track on that! The general consensus for the election date is March 2025.
Also, I’ve seen no suggestions that a new government, regardless of party (e.g. Sinn Fein was doing very well in the opinion polls until recently), will increase Irish defence spending beyond the current target of €1.5 billion p.a. (about 0.4% of GDP) by 2028. See:
Government announces move to transform the Defence Forces and the largest increase in the Defence budget in the history of the State (www.gov.ie)
Not to Necro this, but the election is likely by the end of November/start of December now. So I wasn’t too far out with my 12 weeks…
It will be interesting to see what attention the parties give to defence, there has been far more attention in public to it than before the last GE. We’ll have to wait and see and then wait for the party results for the formation of the next government.