Irish Examiner View: End dangerous wishful thinking about national defence

One of the bizarre cultural legacies from the 1960s is the idea that any money spent on defence is almost an immoral concession to that great draining force, the military-industrial complex.

This has led to a situation where European armies are reduced to levels unimaginable half a century ago.

There are many reasons for this, some valid and some less so. There are consequences too and, thankfully, we have not had to confront them. Yet.

The inaugural National Security Summit, Slándáil 2020, held in Dublin yesterday heard that Ireland is “probably the most vulnerable country” in Europe, and if we want to address that, we will need to devote huge resources over an extended period to build up the necessary defence infrastructure.

That meeting heard in great detail what must happen to build an effective Aer Corps. It is unlikely that even those advocating multi-million investment in a squadron or two of fighter jets imagine that might happen.

However, it seems that along with silly proposals that we buy fighter jets, ambitions to restore our Army and Navy, and our Aer Corps, to a basic functional level have been set aside.

This is not only reckless, it is a dereliction of duty, a dereliction made all the sharper by Brexit and the gulf growing between us and a powerful neighbour and ally.

In an ideal world, we might not need a reliable defence force but until we do our obligations are all too obvious. It is time we met them.