Ireland achieves 60% of Nato goals under partnership pact

Ireland has completed 60 per cent of military goals set for it by Nato under the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, new data shows.

Ireland joined the PfP in 1999 to help improve military standards and interoperability with Nato countries. One of its main components is the Planning and Review Process (Parp).

Every two years, a package of Parp goals is agreed between Nato and Ireland, comprising new goals and uncompleted goals from previous cycles. Goals may also be dropped for various reasons.

According to figures released to The Irish Times by the Department of Defence, to date Ireland has completed 25 goals since joining the programme in 1999.

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Government and Nato officials agreed last year there are 15 goals which remain to be completed.

“A completed goal effectively means we have reached the Nato standard in a particular capability,” the department said.

The 15 outstanding goals is a large drop from the previous Parp package agreed in 2018 which listed 27 goals as outstanding and 19 completed.

This is because several of the outstanding goals were merged as they depended on each other for completion.

Goals can also be dropped completely if there is a change in military capability priorities or if it is decided the goal is unrealistic and likely will never be achieved.

The specifics of Parp goals are classified but military sources said they could range from the simple to the highly complex. One example given was outfitting every soldier with a first-aid kit and training them in its use.

A complex goal might be upgrading the ability of the Defence Forces to protect itself against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. The goals are divided into four categories: land, sea, air and general.

The Parp system “provides a structured approach for enhancing interoperability and capabilities of partner forces that could be made available to the alliance for multinational training, exercises and operations”, Nato says.

A department spokeswoman called it “a mechanism for planning and capability development for Defence Forces deployment on peace support operations that allows for external review of defence capability and provision”.

Many of the Parp goals involve a “standardisation agreement” where Defence Forces equipment and capabilities are brought in line with Nato standards.

The Government’s 2015 White Paper on defence committed to training and equipping the military to Nato standards.

While many aspects of the Defence Forces, from ammunition to rank structure, are already compatible with Nato standards, they are lacking in other areas. The recent Commission on the Defences Forces stated Irish Army battalions do not align with Nato standards and “are understaffed and under-resourced”.

“As stated in the White Paper on defence 2015, Nato standards have become the accepted standard-setting benchmarks for modern military forces and, as such, it is necessary for the Defence Forces to be trained and equipped to Nato standards,” it stated.

The PfP programme has previously been described as a “waiting room” for full Nato membership. Any country wishing to join Nato has to first join the PfP and undertake a “membership action plan”.

However successive Irish governments, including the current one, have insisted the country has no ambitions to join the alliance.

A proposal to increase defence spending by €500 million a year will be brought to Cabinet this month for approval, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney has said but, speaking last month he added, Ireland would not be joining Nato “any time soon”.