International drug gangs ‘will exploit cuts to naval service'

Calls to address 'frighteningly low strength' of Defence Forces

Naval vessel LÉ Róisín returning from patrol after dawn at Roches Point, Cork. The naval service now has just four vessels in operation, down from nine vessels in 2021. Picture: David Creedon

Cuts to the Irish navy will allow South American cartels to accelerate cocaine trafficking across the North Atlantic into Europe, a top expert has warned.

Official confirmation this week that the naval service now has just four vessels in operation — down from six ships a year ago and nine vessels in 2021 — will not go unnoticed by international traffickers, according to ex-Garda assistant commissioner Michael O’Sullivan.

Mr O’Sullivan stepped down in early 2022 as executive director of the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, Narcotics (MAOC-N) the EU agency tasked with intercepting drug shipments across the Atlantic. Ireland was a founding member of it.

Mr O’Sullivan, who previously headed the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said the naval service has a crucial role in combating the transatlantic drug trade.

“Because of the geographical position of Ireland — it’s the most westerly point of Europe and covers the North Atlantic — there’s no other navy that can get a vessel as fast into the North Atlantic as the Irish navy,” said Mr O’Sullivan, who works as a security consultant.

He said it didn’t matter how fast Spanish or Portuguese vessels were, it would take them up to a week to get to same place.

He said that when he was head of MAOC-N, the Irish navy could “scramble in a matter of hours”.

“I’ve been at meetings and intelligence came in and you needed eyes and ears in the North Atlantic,” he said. “You needed a vessel, with radar, to try and pick out your suspect vessel. That’s the starting point of any investigation — to get sight of the vessel. 

“Those coordinates are not going to last forever, so the faster you can get a vessel out there the better. If it takes too long, the vessel’s gone.” 

He said the navies of western Europe were the “eyes and ears” of law enforcement.

“The first line of defence against international drugs trafficking from South America are the naval services and the Irish navy are that in the North Atlantic. 

The Irish navy are very professional, very dedicated, and very motivated. But now they have four ships, half of what they had.” 

He said traffickers will seize on this.

“There are guys in Colombia who are looking for every angle and every way — ships, planes, and submarines — to send drugs over the Atlantic. They will go to areas of least resistance and if they see a gap on the North Atlantic route they will send vessels there. The Irish navy doesn’t have the resources and that creates problems.

“Do I fear the fact the reduction of naval vessels patrolling off the Irish coast will present opportunities? Yes, I think so.” 

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Micheál Martin told the Dáil on Tuesday that recruitment problems meant that two more ships would be tied up, bringing the number to four.

Mr Martin was questioned by the opposition about the publication of the implementation plan, due last month, for the Commission on the Defence Forces (CDF), published almost a year ago.

The Tánaiste said publication was at an “advanced stage”.

Conor King, general secretary of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, said the lack of progress in implementing the CDF had resulted in “loss of morale and confidence, manifested in the frighteningly low strength of the Defence Forces today”.

He said: “Make no mistake, what we have is a people problem. It is only through the retention of skilled personnel that we can stop the bleed.”

Lieutenant Colonel King added: “The solutions are clear, but have been inexplicably ignored up to now: firstly, implement the Working Time Directive through collective agreement with the representative associations; this will force a consolidation and ensure better work life balance and certainty for members. 

"Secondly, fix the pension for new entrants, which is no longer fit for purpose for uniformed service personnel. Finally, support, incentivize and reward the people you will rely on to recruit and train the thousands of new entrants needed.

"Unless these three measures happen urgently, there is little chance of becoming an employer of choice once more and strengthening our Defence Forces.”