'Considerable' concern Ireland lacks ability to protect itself ahead of EU presidency role
Ottoline Spearman
Ireland’s hosting of the EU Presidency next year has been called into question following the release of a new report that questions the country's ability to protect itself against various emerging threats.
The research released on Thursday said that there is a "considerable degree of concern over whether Ireland has the capabilities required to secure and protect itself against threats", warning that the State may have to look to neighbours for security assistance.
Ireland is set to take up the Presidency of the EU next year, beginning in July, but the report cautioned that "hostile actors amy may use this as an opportunity for disruption and to cause harm".
"All this underinvestment, chronic underinvestment in our defence forces are really coming home to roost now, and it's calling into question our hosting of the EU presidency next year," former member of the Defence Forces, Cathal Berry said on Newstalk.
Ireland's defence limitations are multiple, with the report warning that “Ireland’s security environment is at its most complex, most challenging, and most dangerous point in recent history.”
The paper, authored by the Institute of International and European Affairs and Deloitte, comes as Defence Minister Helen McEntee has outlined a €1.7 billion euro plan to modernise the Defence Forces, including the Military Radar Programme, anti-drone technology and a new Air Corps aircraft.
But according to defence analyst Declan Power, there is a lot more to be done. Speaking on Newstalk, he said: "It's a step in the right direction. This money [was] supposed to be ring fenced. The purchase of the radar has been an ongoing project for some years."
The report also warns that Ireland faces major security and resilience risks in its food chain and port operations.
Dublin Port in particular, represents a "significant point of failure in the national supply chain", with food disappearing from shelves in three days if there were a "material adverse event" there.
Speaking on Newstalk, Mr Berry likened the closure of Dublin port to "Ireland having a cardiac arrest".
The report also cautioned that an armed attack on an EU member cannot be ruled out, and that foreign intelligence services are stepping up efforts to target companies here.
