While there have been some increases in defence spending, they are “window dressing” and need to be accelerated dramatically, according to a former TD and deputy commander of the Army Ranger Wing.
In documents obtained by The Irish Times, it recently emerged that Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris had proposed doubling defence spending.
Mr Harris wanted capital funding of €3.4 billion for capital defence projects between 2026 and 2030. He eventually secured €1.7 billion in capital funding for defence between 2026 and 2030.
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, former TD and soldier Cathal Berry said: “Tánaistes don’t request anything, tánaistes and taoisigh decide. They don’t request anything from line ministers, they direct line ministers, so I’d be mindful of that. If someone is serious about investing in the Defence Forces, and you’re in a position of authority, you direct… you don’t request.”
While there have been some increases in defence spending, they are at the lower level of what was recommended in the Commission on the Defence Forces report.
Mr Berry said the spending increasing should be acknowledged, adding that “we are always playing catch up”.
“We are behind and while there has been a small bit of progress in the last three years we’re still talking about sonar, about rader, air policing cabability, but we have to translate words into actions and see something tangible happening on the ground, to date we haven’t seen that capability jump.
“We’ve seen some window dressing and that should be acknowledged that there is some progress, but it’s not at the pace that’s needed, if you look at other small European countries like Denmark for instance, they have completely improved, altered and upgraded their national security apparatus in the last three years it’s dramatically changed. Ours is the same with a small bit of incremental progress.
“A lot of ministers like getting their photo taken with troops or at barracks. It’s good from a PR point of view but whether they’ll follow through on resourcing is the next issue, to date it hasn’t really happened.”
With Independent TD Catherine Connolly running for president, previous comments she mad in the Dáil in which she claimed “we do not need an Army” have resurfaced.
Mr Berry was critical of the claim, adding that it shows a lack of support for those working in the Defence Forces.
“There are 100,000 voters in the defence community in Ireland. It shows the lack of understanding and empathy for the defence community and I would hope those comments would be withdrawan in due course because they are completely unacceptable.”
He also said debate around the triple lock distracts from the issue of funding for the Defence Forces.
Mr Berry pointed to Ireland’s strategic location with undersea cables connecting Europe with the US vital for internet, banking and other day to day services.
“Someone brings up the topic of the Defence Forces, someone immediately brings it down the rabbit hole of neutrality or the triple lock. These things are not in the top 20 pririties of the Defence Forces.
“Instead of actually having a discussion about defence, national resilience and security, our troops, our soldiers, sailors and aviators, it’s this academic discussion about something that is absolutely irrelevant to Defence Forces personell. This has to change.
“The Undof mission in Syria, fully mandated, triple lock-compliant, but Ireland had to witdraw because we didn’t have the troops, for logistical and resourcing reasons, not any legalistic reasons.
“The actual discussion should be around our Defence Forces and national security.”
He added: “Ireland needs to work on its national resilience because we don’t know what’s coming up next week, let alone next year. Unfortunately national resilience hasn’t been invested in in the past and now we have to play catch up.
“I’m not convinced we’re catching up at the appropriate pace. There have been some very small improvements, but most of that is window dressing, there hasn’t been a substantial capability jump yet. We haven’t filled the capability gap yet, there’s been a lot of talk and press releases, some funding but nowhere near enough to actually make up for last time.
“Defence issues are so real and commentary like that is so inaccurate and insulting to the people who are actually serving and doing the job on a daily basis.
“The truth is we underinvested in national security for decades. There are consequences for not investing in our Defence Forces, our defence policy has failed. We are an under-defended island, a strategic islad, a major hub for big data, for semi-conductors (made in Leixlip in Kildare), big pharma around Cork, and a lot of multinational companies which is the lifeblood of this economy and society.”
