Ireland must focus more on national defence against external threats including espionage, covert Russian vessels and conventional military forces, the newly appointed head of the Defence Forces has said.
Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy, who became chief of staff in June, said one of his priorities is improving the Defence Forces’ ability to defend the State and its people, as well as with overseeing a broad-ranging programme of military reform and expansion.
“We have to be able to deliver on national defence operations,” said Lieu Gen Mulcahy. “That’s the fundamental role of the Defence Forces, to defend the State. That’s something we have to develop over the next couple years.”
The most pressing threats to the State are in the form of “hybrid” activity, he said, referring to hostile acts falling below the threshold of conventional military aggression.
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These include espionage, misinformation, cyberattacks and suspicious maritime activity, he said in an interview with The Irish Times.
“In the hybrid area, absolutely there are actors operating in our maritime domain. In our land domain, we know espionage is a threat.”
The increasing presence of Russian “shadow fleet” vessels off the Irish coast is also a worry, the general said.
[ Dramatic increase in number of Russian ‘shadow ships’ in Irish-controlled watersOpens in new window ]
A shadow fleet vessel is generally defined as a ship engaged in deceptive practices to transport sanctioned oil or other cargos. Western security agencies have accused shadow fleet vessels of covert intelligence gathering and sabotaging undersea infrastructure.
“We monitor the shadow fleet. It is a concern for us, of course,” said Lieut Gen Mulcahy. He said the Defence Forces monitors the behaviour of these ships to determine their intentions.
Speaking at a meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Copenhagen on Friday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the use of Irish waters by shadow fleet ships “is of deep concern”.
“Let me be clear, Ireland will not allow our waters to be used for the illicit activities of Russia.
“We are particularly concerned about stateless vessels and falsely-flagged vessels and we will continue to protect our sovereignty rights and contribute to the collective security of the EU.”
Lieut Gen Mulcahy said the Defence Forces must also be prepared to respond to conventional military aggression, although he conceded such an attack is “unlikely”.
This includes being able to defend at sea, in the air and on land.
No small state can fight off an invasion alone, he said.
“But we have to be able to provide a defence to repel any initial invasion and then look for support from partners under the EU or under the UN banner.
“That’s the same for any small country. Every sovereign country has to be able to defend itself.”
He echoed remarks contained in the 2022 Commission on the Defence Forces report, which stated the military “is not equipped, postured or realistically prepared to conduct a meaningful defence of the State against a full-spectrum force for any sustained period of time”.
The chief of staff outlined a range of measures being taken to improve military capability in this area, including the acquisition of radar, sonar and a ground-based missile air-defence system.
The Army is to get a new fleet of armoured personnel carriers while a new “strategic reach” aircraft will be invaluable in transporting troops around the country, he said.
Regarding overseas service, the general said the vote by the UN Security Council to wind down the Unifil mission in Lebanon is a “big loss”, for the Defence Forces. The mission was the “bedrock” of Irish overseas service for more than 50 years.
On Friday, Mr Harris announced Ireland will seek to establish a new mission in the country to train the Lebanese Armed Forces to take over Unifil’s duties.
Lieut Gen Mulcahy said new peacekeeping missions will emerge for Ireland to partake in, although it is possible they will not take place under a UN banner. “The world is becoming less secure, more volatile. So new missions will emerge,” he said.
