The push to undermine Ireland’s neutrality faces public opposition

Despite growing calls for militarisation, polls show strong public support for Ireland’s neutrality as government pressure intensifies

Damaged buildings following a Russian strike on Lviv, Ukraine. “Attempts to chip away Ireland’s neutrality follow a familiar script: the geopolitical calculus in Europe has been altered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as a result European states need to massively expand security spending and adopt a ‘war footing’.” Picture: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty

If you read the headlines in any major Irish newspaper or tune in to the national broadcaster these days, you might think that there is widespread popular consensus that Ireland’s longstanding policy of military neutrality should be scrapped.

However, the opposite is the case. The latest Ireland Thinks poll, released earlier this month, suggests that an overwhelming majority of the Irish public (75%) supports Ireland maintaining neutrality.