'Squeamish debate' misses the point of working with NATO and EU states on defence, Martin says

MICHEÁL MARTIN SAYS there has been too much “squeamish debate” around Ireland working with NATO other countries’ military forces. 

The Taoiseach said Ireland should not be afraid of mutually beneficial co-operation with other nations, particularly amid the heightened threat posed to Europe by Russia. 

His comments come in the wake of the recent drone incursion into Irish airspace during the visit of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The operation is widely believed to have been carried out by Russia as part of Moscow’s ongoing campaign of hybrid warfare against EU nations. 

The current government has been accused in the past twelve months of pushing to increase defence spending in order to set the country on a course to joining up with military alliances.

“There’s been too much squeamish debate in Ireland about all of this,” Martin insisted, in an interview with The Journal in Cork yesterday.

“I think there is a mood among us to take on the debates and not to be driven by the far left and everything on this.”

There are currently wide-ranging connections to states across the world in regard to military co-operation – these include training, security operations in the Atlantic and elsewhere, the sharing of information and the purchase of equipment.

NATO officials have travelled to Ireland to evaluate Irish troops and Irish Defence Forces members regularly travel to train in the United States, Britain and with NATO member states.

There are also a number of EU initiatives whereby Ireland interacts with member states of NATO.

However, Ireland is exempt from participation in European Union mutual defence activities due to the wording of the Lisbon Treaty, which guides the functions of the union.

Martin explained that he believed that there was a gap in how many Irish people understand and view the current security threat environment in Europe and the reality on the ground elsewhere in the continent. 

“Our society doesn’t perhaps have the same sense of the genuine fear, and concern, and also sense of a changing European continent,” he said. 

The threat posed by Russia is a stark reality for countries on the eastern flank of Europe like Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, the Taoiseach said. 

Martin said that the recent spate of hybrid attacks across Europe, including arson attacks and the recent bombing of Polish train infrastructure, were key indicators of the threat posed by Russia. 

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He also spoke of the incidents involving anchors being dragged by ships and destroying essential undersea cables in the Baltic. 

“We’ve had accidents in the Baltic, but as Mette Frederickson, the Danish prime minister said, these are not accidents. These are a pattern of behaviour. We’re trying to convey this.

“A lot of people are getting it, but there’s a lot more work to be done,” he added. 

The Taoiseach said that Ireland has been “historically under spending” in its defence but that the State is “catching up”. 

He said he believes the recent announcement of aligning with France to purchase vital radar is key and that it makes sense for Ireland to partner with other countries to deliver major defence projects. 

Ireland is taking seriously the threats identified to critical infrastructure, he insisted – noting that it may be the case that not everyone across society fully understood how essential this was. 

Dublin Port, which handles 80% of the country’s container freight, must be protected, as well as undersea cables and gas lines, he said. This was, he added, about marrying national security with “economic security”.

The Taoiseach said Ireland could accomplish this and that our third level institutions could be key in helping achieve the task. He paid particular tribute to work he witnessed on a recent visit to the University of Limerick where they were developing “underwater remote control drones”. 

Martin said that he will recommend to the National Security Council that the UL project be designated a ‘national centre’, which would free up more cash to fund its development. 

The Fianna Fáil leader also said there was a need for Irish industry to begin winning defence contracts.

The EU aims to create an €800 billion fund for defence in the coming years. It was reported by the Business Post earlier this month that barriers for Irish firms participating in the plan are to be removed.  

Regarding Irish companies bidding for defence contracts, Martin said: “I’m very clear, I have no issues with it and to me, it doesn’t affect military neutrality, which I’ve always defined as not being militarily aligned.

“So we’re not members of NATO, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cooperate with NATO countries. It doesn’t mean you can’t cooperate with European Union states in terms of ensuring that we know what’s going on around us.”

- We’ll have more from our interview with Micheál Martin on The Journal in the coming days. 

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