Ireland’s position of politically supporting Ukraine while remaining militarily neutral is a “difficult path” to follow, a senior Irish official has said after being challenged to explain Irish neutrality at a defence conference in France. “It is a difficult path or line to us to follow, but that’s the line,” Department of Defence secretary general … Read more
“Civilian hulls painted grey” is a term often applied to the vessels of the Irish Naval Service. The eight ships – of which only four are available for duty due to personnel shortages – are ill-equipped for modern challenges. They have limited ability to detect what is happening above the waves and precisely zero ability … Read more
Ireland is to deepen naval co-operation with France and Britain, including allowing their vessels to patrol Irish-controlled waters and offer protection during the EU presidency. The move towards deeper co-operation will be outlined on Wednesday with the launch of the National Maritime Security Strategy, which will set out planned measures to protect Irish waters and … Read more
This week in Farnborough, near London, hundreds of arms company representatives mingled with military officers and government officials from around the world. Among them were representatives from the Irish Defence Forces and Department of Defence. They were attending the annual International Armoured Vehicles Conference, which bills itself as “the largest, most influential gathering of the … Read more
Last month, Irish soldiers assigned to the EU Battlegroup, which is designed to act as the bloc’s rapid response force, got an unwelcome surprise. Christmas pay packets would be smaller than expected, they were told. The problem was that, while on Battlegroup exercises in Hungary and Germany, they had mistakenly been paid a higher rate … Read more
The decision by Finland and Sweden to join Nato in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may leave Ireland more isolated within the EU on the issue of military neutrality, officials at the Department of Defence have warned In a departmental briefing prepared for incoming Minister for Defence Simon Harris, which has just been … Read more
The Government has signed a deal worth almost €100 million for the purchase of four new military helicopters. The new Airbus H145m aircraft will replace and expand the Air Corps’ small fleet of light utility helicopters. The services’s two existing EC135 helicopters are approaching the end of their service life and are due to be … Read more