Irish Examiner View: Funding our defence forces cannot be an afterthought

Naval vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats at berth in Cobh, Co Cork. Picture: David Creedon / Anzenberger

The three arms of our defence forces have been run down for many years.  A lack of investment, and respect too, has brought us to a sorry pass. 

So much so that our navy's leaders may spend more time organising repair work on our modest fleet rather than taking that fleet to sea to patrol our coastline. 

This offers opportunities to those nefarious individuals, smugglers or fishermen ignoring limits, who thrive in those unsupervised circumstances.

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has acknowledged this vulnerability by admitting that the prospect of a hard Brexit convinced his cabinet colleagues to support a €10,000 loyalty bonus for navy personnel. 

Should a hard Brexit transpire, conflict between fishermen of various nationalities is anticipated in our waters.

Should a hard Brexit transpire it is also hard to rule out some form of regulatory imposition or checks along our land border with the North. 

In that event, our army — or what's left of it — may need to be placated with a loyalty payment too.

There is an unfortunate air of farce about this intervention, this ahhh-shure-it'll-be-grand slapdash. 

Not only does it recognise under-investment, it perpetuates the idea that our defence forces can be an afterthought and only funded properly in times of need. 

It shows a dangerous absence of seriousness — especially as those who might make our defence forces necessary are unlikely to make an appointment before they do so.