Rogue drones launched as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was arriving in Ireland were not controlled by some “back garden enthusiast” but likely tied to a “co-ordinated threat” to European interests, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said.
The appearance of several drones off the coast of Ireland shortly after the Ukrainian leader’s flight was arriving last week has brought questions about the State’s ability to counter instances of possible foreign interference into focus.
It is understood the drones flew into the path Mr Zelenskiy’s aircraft had taken approaching Ireland some time beforehand, about 13 nautical miles off the coast.
Speaking on Monday, Mr O’Callaghan said it was clear the drones were not controlled by some “back garden drone enthusiast” and investigations were continuing into the incident.
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“I think it’s fair to say that we think this is part of a co-ordinated threat to EU and Ukrainian interests,” the Minister said in Brussels.
“It certainly wasn’t a back garden drone enthusiast, I suppose our suspicion is that this was drones that were generated for the purpose of putting pressure on EU and indeed Ukrainian interests,” he said.
It is understood footage of the drones was captured by the crew of the Naval Service’s LE William Butler Yeats. The incident is believed to have been intended to cause embarrassment to the Republic.
The incident highlights potential weaknesses in the State’s defence capabilities, a little more than six months out from Ireland taking over the EU council presidency, a role that will entail hosting European heads of state and other foreign delegations for high-level meetings.
Mysterious drones have caused disruption in several European capital cities, including Copenhagen and Brussels, necessitating the temporary shutdown of big airports. Drones have also been spotted flying over military sites.
The strong belief is that Russia is behind the interference, using drones to cause disruption in Europe and to embarrass pro-Ukrainian governments.
Mr O’Callaghan said the gardaí did a “very good job” in ensuring the security of Mr Zelenskiy’s official visit to Ireland.
“There’s an investigation ongoing in respect of the presence of drones out in Dublin Bay,” he said.
“It’s not just an issue in respect of Ireland but throughout the European Union; there are issues in respect of greater threats being exposed as a result of drone technology,” he said.
The Fianna Fáil Minister said he had not yet reached any determination about whether a state actor was likely behind the drones launched off of Dublin.
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“Obviously I get a lot of information from An Garda Síochána in respect of issues concerning our security, but I think it’s fair to say that we think this is part of a co-ordinated threat to EU and Ukrainian interests,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has insisted the security operation around the visit of President Zelenskiy was “very effective” notwithstanding the incident with drones off the Irish coast.
During a press conference on Monday, Mr Martin was asked if the appearance of the drones raises questions of national defence to a more critical level in advance of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of next year.
Mr Martin said that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “there’s been a significant escalation of a whole range of types of attacks and threats, largely we would think emanating from Russia terms of cyber attacks, in terms of hybrid attacks in many of the Baltic states, members of the European Union.”
He mentioned the emergence of drones in Copenhagen during Denmarks’ EU presidency as well as issues with drones in Belgium as well as incidents in UK territorial waters and what happened in the context of Mr Zelenskiy’s visit to Ireland.
“This is many ways is not a surprise because a pattern has been emerging for quite some time.”
In relation to last week’s drone incident he said he is seeking a comprehensive report from the National Security Council which will be meeting “shortly” and a review of the incident is “ongoing”.
Mr Martin said that Ireland shares knowledge on an ongoing basis with other EU member states and the UK and will “co-ordinate both our intelligence on this but also then future approaches to threats of this kind both in terms of drones but also in terms of cyber attacks” and “other types of attacks”.
He said that Ireland is increasing defence spending “significantly enhancing our capabilities on the cyber front”; procuring radar systems and has an “individually tailored plan” with Nato on areas such as undersea infrastructure.
The Cabinet is expected to hear plans this week for €1.7 billion spending on defence equipment and infrastructure up to 2030 under the revised National Development Plan – with about €300 million to be available next year.
The Government is expected to allocate between €15 million and €17 million next year as part of an accelerated programme to acquire technology to track and intercept drones.
The drone initiative will represent the first component of an overall military radar programme, likely to be the most expensive defence project in the history of the State and which the Government wants fully in place by 2028.
Mr O’Callaghan said boosting the Defence Forces’ ability to counter malicious drones was “something that’s very important in light of what we’ve seen recently”.
The Minister was speaking in Brussels, where he was attending a meeting of justice ministers to discuss migration policy.
