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IT IS FIVE years since the Government announced that it was working on a new national security strategy but the new Programme for Government has put it further on the back burner.
Instead of committing to producing the strategy the 162 page document commits to a review.
In December 2022 Micheál Martin, who was then Taoiseach, said that the strategy was being worked on. Public consultation began in December 2019.
The strategy is a key document which guides how Ireland deals with national security and informed policy for the Government and implementation for the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána and other agencies.
A security source stated it is impossible to ascertain what the policy will be without actual detail. The source added it is critical that any review is akin to that of the Commission on the Defence Forces and that it be independent with input from Scandinavian countries similar in scale to Ireland.
Edward Burke is one of Ireland’s leading academics and experts in National Security – he lectures on war studies in the Department of History in University College Dublin.
He said that the key consideration for a review is that it must be independent.
“Overdue and vital, the National Security Strategy has been many years in the making.
“It should be updated to reflect the shift, escalation of security threats and changed geopolitical landscape since 2022. Sequencing is important here.
“A national security review should precede, and help inform, an updated NSS – but both should be completed within the first year of the government’s term of office,” he said.
On page 121 the document, under the headline Strengthening National Security, sets out a number of bullet points.
It states that it is “essential for protecting citizens, maintaining public order, and ensuring the safety of our communities”.
At present national security is handled by a civil servant in the Department of Taoiseach who has a number of other roles.
One key consideration in the document is that there is to be a more coordinated role for the Department of Taoiseach and a new National Security Committee will be established.
It will be chaired by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Minister for Justice and Minister for Defence.
There will be an examination of the national security structures and it will have to be done within six months.
The National Security Authority will come under the remit of the Department of Justice “to ensure proper alignment of national security infrastructure”. There will be a ring-fenced budget within An Garda Síochána to expand civilian recruitment into the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service.
In other words Ireland will increase the number of civilians involved in spying, intelligence and analysis.
In other moves the National Cyber Security Centre will move from Department of Communications to Justice. There are also plans to develop a centre of excellence with connections to third level colleges.
There are a lot of election promises in the document including funding for 5,000 new gardaí over five years – no mention of specifics about how they will reach that number.
There is mention of a second garda college to operate in tandem to Templemore to cater for this or for training in external universities.
There is mention of a rural safety strategy and an extensive mention of a retail crime strategy to deal with thefts and assaults. there is also a repeat of a previous promise to introduce minimum prison sentences for crimes such as murder.
The Government has said it will continue to preserve Ireland’s policy of active military neutrality but said, in keeping with the current position, it will not be politically neutral.
It will undertake the much promised reform of the Triple Lock mechanism which is directly related to how Ireland deploys troops abroad. Currently the system requires a UN mandate, Cabinet approval and a vote in the Dáil – the Government plan is to remove the need of a UN mandate.
In regard to the capability planning which arose out of an Action Plan following the Commission on the Defence Forces the incoming parties state that they will move from the Level of Ambition Two to highest rating of Level of Ambition Three.
This level will involve the purchase of fighter jets for instance and a greater, more modern Defence Forces.
This has been strongly welcomed by security and military sources we spoke to this week.
Edward Burke believe that it is “the most ambitious national security programme for government this century”.
“The devil, as always, will be in the details – such as the terms of reference and composition of a review on national security, the type and scale of future investment in the Naval Service, meeting pre-existing commitments under LOA 2 of the report of the Commission of the Defence Forces,” he said.
The academic said that “considerable thought and attention” has been brought to bear on national security.
Cathal Berry, a former army officer who is now standing in the Seanad election having lost his seat in the General Election, has been another strong advocate.
“There has been progress in the last four programmes for Government in the language being used but there has been less progress in implementation.
“The role of the Minister for defence has been diluted and we really don’t have one – Malta is the only other country in the EU behaving like this.
“You don’t have the same political leadership – we are going to have 23 junior ministers and 15 cabinet ministers but none for National Security. It is likely that the Minister will be Simon Harris and he will also have responsibility for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“The EU has a dedicated commissioner for defence now and member states are all taking action – the issue clearly is they seem to know something that we do not,” he said.
Berry said that there is a failure to address the retention and recruitment crisis, particularly in regard to what he said is a failure to realise that poor pension entitlements are a key problem in keeping staff.
The former TD also said that capability building in the services is critical and it must happen faster.
“All this is a top priority in the EU but from reading that document it clearly is not in Ireland,” he added.
Mark Keane, President of PDFORRA, which represents rank and file members of the Defence Forces criticised the failure to mention the need for pension restoration to pre 2013 levels.
“Currently, we are operating below the established strength of 9,500 with the strength now at 7,447 . Despite the fact that we have successfully made gains in many areas.
“We need to adopt measures, such as pension restoration to enable retaining and recruiting staff – it is a major stumbling block,” he said
Keane that the incoming Government has failed to realise that one of the key issues causing a retention crisis is the lack of action on the post-2013 pensions.
Lieutenant Colonel Conor King of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) said that the commitments of 11500 military personnel by 2028, and a subsequent move to LOA3 are to be welcomed.
King also said that investment in “infrastructure and equipment will make the Defence Forces an employer of choice once again”. However he warned that was dependent on solving the key retention and recruitment issues.
“The imminent full implementation of the Working Time Directive will be transformative, and RACO will continue to advocate strongly with our partners in the Garda Siochana, Prison Service and Fire Brigade for badly needed changes to the Post 2013 pension, which is critical for the long term viability of frontline uniformed services in Ireland,” he added.
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