Call for Irish defence attachés in key embassies abroad

The Department of defence has on ongoing project examining the establishment of military liaison officers in key embassies abroad.

The Department of Defence has been urged to “speedily” establish military liaison officers in key embassies abroad, with Ireland being described as a “complete outlier” among nations in not having defence attachés.

The Commission on the Defence Forces (CDF), which reported in February 2022, called for the “immediate creation” of a network of defence attachés — a move first suggested as worth exploring in the department’s own White Paper on Defence 2015.

As reported in the Irish Examiner after the publication of the CDF report, the department said it was not adopting this proposal as it was not a formal recommendation of the commission.

The department has had on ongoing project examining the matter.

Recently, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who is defence minister and foreign affairs minister, told the Dáil that the project has explored the potential for deploying an attaché, as “a pilot”, in an embassy of strategic value.

He said the project’s work, including consultations, was continuing and that an “agreement of timelines” would follow.

The continuing delay with the establishment of the attachés had drawn criticism from opposition politicians and defence experts.

Former army officer and independent TD for Kildare North Cathal Berry said there were 42 defence attachés accredited to Ireland, mainly based in London, covering both the UK and Ireland.

Former army officer and independent TD for Kildare North Cathal Berry said Ireland was an “outlier” among countries and said he was not aware of any other state that does not have defence attachés in at least some of their overseas embassies. File picture: Michael Donnelly

He said there were currently two countries with attachés in Dublin — the US and the UK.

The defence attaché in the Russian embassy was compelled to leave by the Irish Government following the full scale attack on Ukraine.

Mr Berry said Ireland was an “outlier” among countries and said he was not aware of any other state that does not have defence attachés in at least some of their overseas embassies.

He also said it was “most unusual” in the diplomatic world not to “reciprocate” where another country has an attaché here, but not to provide one in their country, in this case, UK and the US.

“The US and UK are really important to us,” he said.

The Government is expanding its diplomatic footprint abroad with more embassies and we have gardaí and the IDA in many embassies, but no defence attachés.

He said the US, the UK, and France would be his top three priorities, perhaps followed by Poland.

Andrew Cottey, UCC Professor at the Department of Government and Politics, with a specialism in international security, said Ireland was a “complete outlier” in not having defence attachés.

He said all countries, apart from micro states, have them and said there was “no reason” why the Defence Forces could not provide suitable people. 

He said existing Defence Forces representatives were already playing a very similar role in the UN, EU, and Nato.

He said the Government’s plan to pilot just one in the first instance seemed “a very cautious approach”.

Prof Cottey suggested the UK, the US, Nordic states, and Germany as potential sites.

Sinn Féin’s defence and foreign affairs spokesman Matt Carty, who asked Mr Martin questions on the matter, said the project in the Department of Defence should “conclude speedily”.

He said a network of defence attachés could contribute to Ireland’s diplomatic footprint, but added that the positions “must have a clear purpose”.