Extent of Irish military cooperation with UK revealed
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said the safety of Defence Forces personnel is a key priority for him. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA
The growing military cooperation between neutral Ireland and our nearest neighbour and Nato member the UK has been revealed by a senior British official.
In response to a series of written questions documented in the UK Defence Journal, British parliamentary under-secretary of state for defence Luke Pollard said there is ongoing collaboration between the two nations in "multiple areas of defence and security". Mr Pollard said both countries continue to strengthen their defence ties under a 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
He said that the MOU “underscores the breadth of our bilateral relationship with Ireland", and said there are a number of key areas of cooperation which have been enhanced since the agreement was signed 10 years ago.
They include information exchanges, joint exercises and training, crisis management operations, along with capability development and cyber defence and security.
Mr Pollard said there are many other areas of cooperation which continue to be developed under the agreement, which are reinforcing the close relationship between the two countries.
Independent senator Gerard Craughwell said the 2015 MOU “seems a little unusual” in so far as Ireland had at that time little to bring to the table.
Britain has upped its spending on defence to more than €70bn. In contrast the Government here has trumpeted that 2025 will see a record investment of €1.35bn.
“In effect it underpinned Ireland's freeloading in many matters of defence whenever and wherever it could find a willing partner," Mr Craughwell said.
However, he said it makes sense for Ireland and Britain to share intelligence on possible threats that may impact either country or both.
The world has moved on since 2015 and now Ireland is getting serious about defence. There is much that needs to be learned, and I would expect that the MOU will be invaluable as Ireland ups its game in defence,” Mr Craughwell said.
Mr Pollard has, meanwhile, said the British are committed to defending their undersea cables and those of their allies.
In 2022 a British helicopter and frigate chased off a Russian submarine close to Cork harbour because we did not have the capability to do so
The submarine was just outside the 12-mile limit and therefore did not infringe on our sovereign waters. It is believed the Russians were testing British reactions as they knew our navy did not have the ships or sonar to do anything about their presence.
The British have also played a part in monitoring the alleged Russian spy ship Yantar when it has anchored over undersea cables in Ireland’s EEZ (Economic Exclusion Zone).
Meanwhile, the Government here has announced that it has awarded a €16.5m contact to Belgian company Seyntex to supply 6,105 modern ‘body armour’ suits for Defence Forces personnel.
The first batch will be delivered by the end of the year with the remainder coming in the summer of 2026.
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said the safety of Defence Forces personnel is a key priority for him and the new body armour will mean our troops have access to state-of-the-art protection.
The Department of Defence is also tendering for the supply of new combat clothing and helmets.
