Irish Rangers’ lives were put “at risk” during a recent operation to seize a drug smuggling ship, because they were only able to use one helicopter rather than the two that were required, an Independent Senator has claimed.
Senator Gerard Craughwell, who previously served in both the Irish and British armies, was speaking to Gript about how vulnerable Ireland is to smuggling.
He highlighted what he called “the appalling situation” where Irish special forces troops were forced to capture a drug ship with one helicopter, “when you would have required two helicopters – one with snipers on board and one for the fast-roping operation.”
“We put soldiers’ lives at risk in that particular interdiction scenario,” he said.
“So, we need to get real about it. We were lucky in that case, and that’s all we were—we were lucky.”
That incident, which took place last October, was harshly criticised at the time by Independent TD Cathal Berry, who previously served in the Irish Rangers himself. Berry said the operation “could have gone horribly wrong with the lack of backup,” adding: “Conducting that mission with one helicopter was operating on the edge, beyond the frontier of normal operations.”
Craughwell further claimed that the deterioration of the Irish security forces was “unforgivable.”
“The Army has fallen below six and a half thousand; the Air Corps is not fit for purpose; and the Navy—we have one ship protecting our economic zone,” he said.
“It’s totally and utterly unforgivable where we have found ourselves.
“You know, the people inside here in Government Buildings can fob off these things and say that people like me are talking down the security situation of the country. I’m not the one responsible for the situation we’re in. I’m not the one who’s sitting in a ministerial office knowing that there is one ship, and one ship alone, able to protect our coast on a 24-hour-a-day basis.”
He said that because of the inability to police Irish waters, the country has become Europe’s “open door” for drugs and human trafficking.
“We are now the open door for drugs to come into Europe, for people trafficking, anything you want—the West Coast is open, come and enjoy it,” he said.
“It’s there for any criminal that wants to use it, any rogue state that wants to use it. We have not taken security and defence seriously.”
Craughwell continued that both the Gardaí and the Defence Forces were “doing an incredible job” despite operating “with both hands tied behind their back.”
“The problem we have is not the Gardaí or the Defence Forces; the problem we have lies inside Government Buildings here, where, for example, gardaí are leaving in their droves because the pension scheme since 2013 makes it unviable to have it as a career. The Defence Forces are leaving in droves because the 2013 pension scheme has made it unviable as a career.
“We’ve been saying this to government ministers, we’ve been announcing this for 10 years. Nobody is listening. Nobody seems to believe that the damage that has been done to the pension schemes of public servants is going to cost this state billions in years to come. Young gardaí, young Defence Forces people who are doing a fantastic job, are being forced out of their jobs.
“So, we don’t take security seriously, and if we did, we’d sit down and look at the actual problems that are causing people to leave, and we would do something about it.”