Why is Ireland asking foreign navies to patrol its waters?

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26 Feb 2026

Why is Ireland asking foreign navies to patrol its waters?

With the EU Presidency looming and a massive funding shortfall in the Department of Defence, a new plan proposes something unprecedented: asking British and French navies to help patrol Irish waters. News Correspondent Niall O’Connor joins us to examine how this new strategy will work, what it means for Irish neutrality, and the crucial question of how we are going to pay for it.

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