Conference hears calls for Ireland to grow defence industry

A conference organised by the Department of Defence heard calls from Irish companies for the country to grow its defence industry, as anti-war groups held a protest over the event taking place.

The conference saw department officials, Defence Forces staff and Irish and international companies gather to discuss the defence industry in Ireland, which is mainly focused on developing “dual-use technology” that can be used for both military and civilian purposes.

The event, held in a suite in the Aviva Stadium, included a number of panel talks, which discussed security concerns facing Ireland such as cyber threats, as well as discussions around how Ireland could grow its defence sector.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said while Ireland did not have “an arms industry”, many Irish companies contributed research and technology to the defence and security sector.

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“Even though the perception is Ireland doesn’t have a defence industry . . . actually in terms of the contribution that many Irish companies make in regards dual-use goods, we have extraordinary capacity in this country,” he said.

“Ireland doesn’t have a defence industry like other European member states and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever generate one,” he said.

Mr Coveney said Ireland had to “try to catch up” when it came to spending on the State’s defence and security.

“This is a technological race where States need to be ahead of those who want to undermine the systems and stability that we live by, and Ireland is no different to other countries,” he told the conference.

“I also want an honest discussion around what Ireland needs to do along with other countries, to make sure we’re pulling our weight in the collective approach to our common security on this continent,” he said.

A group of more than 50 anti-war protesters held a demonstration outside of the Aviva Stadium during the conference.

Joe Murray, one of the organisers from anti-war group Afri, criticised the event as a “deliberate and conscious attempt to develop an arms industry” in Ireland.

“Anyone who looks at the world today would conclude that we don’t need more participants in war, we don’t need more contributors to war,” he said.

Another one of the protesters, Aine O’Regan, from Co Clare, said she was demonstrating as she opposed any expansion of an “arms industry” in Ireland.

Ms O’Regan, who also protests US military flights using Shannon Airport, said there was a shift driven by Fine Gael to push Ireland closer to joining the Nato military alliance.