Irish Examiner view: €1.7bn defence spending plan reflects a new era in geopolitics
Defence minister Helen McEntee is shown military equipment during a visit to Curragh Camp in Co Kildare on Thursday. Picture: Gráinne Ní Aodha/PA
Minister for defence Helen McEntee has announced significant investment in Ireland’s defensive capabilities, detailing a €1.7bn spending plan.
Some of that investment will be focused on traditional hardware, from the upgrading of the army’s fleet of vehicles to the procurement of new helicopters for the air corps. The staff of the Defence Forces will also benefit from €400m invested in training camps, accommodation, gyms, and general infrastructure.
These are the traditional markers of defence spending — visible modernisation of physical assets and large-scale investment in personnel.
It is noteworthy, however, that the minister’s plans also involve a significant focus on areas which would have been unheard of even a few years ago. A new radar system is to be developed, and there will also be investment in our subsea defences. Our protection from drone attacks and incursions is also set to be improved.
These are all welcome indicators of the recognition of a new reality in geopolitics. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put every country in Europe on notice that it may be in the firing line, and our relative remoteness from the conflict in the east of the continent is not proof against involvement.
The presence of drones near Dublin Airport during Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit is evidence, if that were needed, that we must maintain our vigilance.
It is notable that Ireland’s defensive capabilities have been the subject of criticism recently in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal. While the agenda of such publications can only be guessed at, such commentary serves to warn us that our vulnerability has been noticed — not just by gadfly commentators looking to provoke, but by potential adversaries probing for weaknesses.
Large-scale investment such as this is bound to spark debate about our neutral status, which is welcome, but we must also recognise that the world is a more hostile place now than it has been for many years. We must plan accordingly.
As reported here yesterday, Fianna Fáil is facing a fine for not taking down posters of Jim Gavin in Galway, some seven weeks after the presidential election. It appears that Mr Gavin’s candidacy continues to cause headaches for the party long after he dropped out of the race.
A far more pressing concern for that party is the story reported here yesterday, when Paul Hosford and Louise Burne wrote that Fianna Fáil had been warned of potential issues with Mr Gavin’s candidacy, with particular reference to the issue with his former tenant, before his candidacy was confirmed.
It emerged during the presidential campaign that Mr Gavin had not repaid rent overpayments worth €3,300 to a tenant in 2008, and he dropped out of the race not long after that became public. Fianna Fáil are conducting a review of this situation, and a draft of the review states that a member of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party informed deputy leader Jack Chambers that Mr Gavin might have an issue with a tenant hours before he was selected as its presidential candidate.
The revelation is likely to make matters uncomfortable for Mr Chambers and for Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who advocated strongly for Mr Gavin’s selection as presidential candidate. Mr Martin was the subject of strong criticism within Fianna Fáil when the Gavin bid for the Áras ended, but he survived as leader after apologising at a parliamentary party meeting.
As outlined by Paul Hosford here in recent days, however, there is a sense that minister for justice Jim O’Callaghan’s ambitions may ultimately be decisive in terms of the leadership of the party. Mr O’Callaghan is viewed as a likely replacement for Mr Martin if the latter should step down, but the variables here include the extent of the former’s drive to command his party and the latter’s judgement of the mood of his colleagues.
The party as a whole may be waiting for publication of the review before making any decisive move, but there can be no doubt that this was a bad week for the Taoiseach.
West Cork schoolgirl Féile O’Sullivan hopes to be home for Christmas, her family has said.
She has had over 60 operations since a tractor accident in her native Allihies just days before her birthday. Although Féile lost both of her legs in the accident in July she continues “to make wonderful progress”, her mother Maureen said, and she can now get around hospital in her motorised chair.
“I think it is really important to highlight and thank everyone,” added Maureen O’Sullivan. “There will never be words to say how grateful we are for everything.”
The community which rallied around the O’Sullivan family used the GoFundMe platform to help raise funds for Féile, and more than €770,000 has been raised since a four-person fundraising committee met for the first time on the August bank holiday weekend.
It is no surprise, then, to learn that Ireland has been named the world’s most generous country for the seventh year in a row, according GoFundMe. The platform revealed that this year approximately €50m was donated across 28,000 fundraisers nationwide, with Féile O’Sullivan’s campaign raising the most money.
These fundraisers are often associated with serious accidents and other life-changing challenges. Irish people can be proud of giving that level of practical support to people facing the most testing circumstances imaginable.
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