The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin has emphasised the need for Ireland to continue building its military partnerships, while insisting that the new partnership agreement with NATO will not undermine Ireland’s neutrality.
His comments came during yesterday’s meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, where members were briefed on the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) agreement with NATO.
The Tánaiste said that the ITIP with NATO presented opportunities for future cooperation in areas like cyber, resilience and maritime situational awareness.
The Fianna Fáil leader also said that the “fragmented” nature of Europe’s national militaries and defence industries presented challenges when it came to interoperability which cooperation through NATO/Partnership for Peace or the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework could help to overcome.
“The European Union defence industry is the most fragmented, and militaries are the most fragmented. If you take the United States for example, their helicopters and their particular weaponry…there might be two or three types at most. In Europe you could have 15, 16 or 17, so despite everything, you have relatively poor interoperability compared to a US say, or a China or others,” he said.[1]
In March, the European Commission presented the first-ever European Defence Industrial Strategy, in which the EU set out a target that Member States should procure at least 40% of their defence equipment in a collaborative manner by 2030.[2]
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has also made it clear that if chosen to lead the next Commission, she wishes to create a dedicated portfolio of defence commissioner.[3]
During the Committee debate, Martin criticised what he called the “over tendency in Ireland to look at any such cooperation as sort of undermining our neutrality.”
“[W]e can’t do all of this on our own. In other words, enhancing our own military capability and interoperability cannot be done on our own,” he said.
Martin went on to refer to ways in which Ireland is looking to expand and improve its military capabilities, pointing to the acquisition of radar technology as one area where cooperation may be beneficial.
“We’re looking at radar now for example, and we may very well look from a government-to-government perspective on that,” the Tánaiste said.[4]
The landmark Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces published in February 2022 included the acquisition and development of primary radar, coastal radar and associated system as a key objective within the Level of Ambition 2 scenario which the coalition subsequently endorsed.[5]
During the meeting, the Sinn Féin Foreign and Defence spokesperson Deputy Matt Carthy and the Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell each pressed the Tánaiste to provide a definition of Irish neutrality.
Responding to them, Martin stated that “neutrality is fundamentally [about] whether you are a member of a military alliance or not.”
Senator Craughwell requested that an official briefing document be prepared outlining what Irish neutrality is and what it entails.
While Martin replied that such a document could be provided, he said that Ireland’s definition of neutrality would not necessarily align with the definition provided by other countries.[6]
In February, it was first reported that Ireland had entered into the agreement with NATO in order to protect subsea infrastructure and to guard against threats from aggressive states such as Russia.
The Irish Times reported that though the list of areas for co-operation was classified, it was understood that it included “cybersecurity, protecting critical infrastructure and enhancing maritime security.”[7]
Sinn Féin has criticised the manner in which this development came to light, with Deputy Matt Carthy saying that it is “not acceptable that members of the Oireachtas learn of significant defence and security developments through media reports.”[8]
[1] Oireachtas.ie (2024) ‘Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence,’ https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/video-archive/committees/
[2] European Union (2024) ‘European Defence Industrial Strategy,’ https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/333faee1-a851-44a6-965b-713247515d39_en?filename=DEFIS_EDIS_factsheet.pdf
[3] POLITICO (2024) ‘Von der Leyen plans new defense commissioner post,’ https://www.politico.eu/article/von-der-leyen-plans-new-defense-commissioner-post/
[4] Oireachtas.ie (2024) ‘Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence,’ https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/video-archive/committees/
[5] Report of the Commission of the Defence Forces (2022) https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/221085/6a8d1ccb-9cd1-4612-b109-2387c3369b1a.pdf#page=null
[6] Oireachtas.ie (2024) ‘Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence,’ https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/video-archive/committees/
[7] The Irish Times (2024) ‘Ireland and Nato enter new agreement to counter Russia threat,’ https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2024/02/09/ireland-enters-wide-ranging-agreement-with-nato-aimed-at-countering-russia-threats/
[8] Sinn Féin (2024) ‘Tánaiste must answer to the Dáil on NATO arrangements – Matt Carthy TD,’ https://vote.sinnfein.ie/tanaiste-must-answer-to-the-dail-on-nato-arrangements-matt-carthy-td/