The White Paper on defence is long overdue and welcome. The previous one, the first of its kind in the Republic, was published in 2000. Since then, the domestic and international security environments have been transformed.
In a parallel development, the Defence Forces have been transformed almost beyond recognition.
Since 2000, the internal and external security threats confronting the State have evolved dramatically. Fifteen years ago, the Republic was basking in the afterglow of the Belfast Agreement and the achievements of the Northern Ireland peace process. The threat posed by the Provisional IRA and dissident republican groups such as the Real IRA and Continuity IRA was considered low or minimal.
Europe was experiencing unprecedented economic prosperity and growth. Applications for membership of the European Union from central European states were being fast-tracked. The United States appeared to be the unchallenged global economic and military superpower.
The 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001 radically altered the international and domestic security environment. The subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq fundamentally destabilised the Middle East, leading indirectly to the creation of Islamic State (IS), a refugee crisis and mass migration towards Europe.
In tandem, radical Islamism has proliferated internationally. Disparate groups such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda, IS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and hundreds of others have directed barbaric terror attacks on other ethnic groups and on western targets.
Irish casualties
Irish citizens were killed or seriously injured in the 9/11 attacks, the London 7/7 attacks of 2005, the Bali and Madrid bombings of 2005. Margaret Hassan was murdered in Iraq. Irish troops based in Syria were involved in firefights with al-Nusra affiliates in late 2014. Most recently, Irish citizens were murdered in the Tunisian terror attack last month.
Estimates also indicate up to 40 Irish passport-holders are fighting in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria where, according to the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, systematic rape and war crimes have been committed by all parties to the conflict. Europe has also become destabilised. Emboldened perhaps by the West's use of "pre-emptive" strikes against Afghanistan and Iraq, Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 on the pretext of protecting ethnic Russian interests. A semi-covert invasion of Ukraine in 2014 has led to fears of similar interventions and black operations in the Baltic states in the near future.
The White Paper reflects these realities and outlines the new risks and threats to Ireland’s security for the next decade. On external security, the primary threat is identified as that posed by international terrorism – with our citizens and infrastructure targets for extremists, or Ireland being used as a launch pad for terror attacks on our EU neighbours.
On internal security, dissident republican and loyalist groupings remain a threat. Former paramilitaries engaged in criminal activities such as drug trafficking and fuel smuggling are also recognised as a threat to the State’s security. The current debate about the status of the Provisional IRA highlights this legacy of the Troubles.
Transformation process
Since the publication of the 2000 White Paper, the Defence Forces have also undertaken a major transformation process. In 2000, the Irish armed forces essentially did one job – peacekeeping – for one international organisation: the UN. In the last decade, however, they have increasingly undertaken peace-enforcement or combat missions, not just for the UN but also for Nato and the EU. Irish troops have also engaged in observer missions for the UN, Nato, the EU and OSCE.
Naval Service personnel on the LÉ Niamh are currently conducting life-saving humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean as part of the EU's Operation Pontus.
Funded by barrack closures and the sale of military lands, the Army has acquired new equipment, including an upgraded fleet of high-tech armoured vehicles, helicopters and surface vessels. This has dramatically enhanced its military capability and facilitated its inter-operability with EU and Nato forces worldwide.
Since 2000, Irish troops and observers have been deployed worldwide from Kosovo to Iraq and Kuwait in the Middle East, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Chad, Central African Republic, Uganda, Somalia and Mali in Africa along with Afghanistan and East Timor in Asia.
Irish troops are currently deployed to some of the world’s most serious conflict zones including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Kosovo, Bosnia, Congo and Western Sahara.
The White Paper commits to continue and support Ireland’s growing military role in such international organisations as peacekeepers and more frequently, as peace enforcers. To this end, it commits to renewing our armoured assets, surface vessels, multi-role aircraft and helicopters.
In addition, the document sets out to double the number of women recruited to the Defence Forces. The participation of women in our peace-support operations is particularly important given the proliferation of gender- based violence, systematic rape and sexual assault as a feature of international conflicts.