Sinn Féin has said it needs more information about the secret defence arrangement successive governments have operated with the British air force before it decides whether or not it would scrap the agreement if in government.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesman, Matt Carthy, said news of the arrangement, reported in The Irish Times, “simply further exposes the abysmal failure of successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments to invest in our Defence Forces and to ensure that, as an independent, neutral state, we can monitor and defend our airspace and our seas”.
Mr Carthy said that he has “sought a briefing from the Department of Defence on this matter, so as to clarify the legal and constitutional matters that have arisen from today’s report” but he also urged Tánaiste Micheál Martin to make a public statement on the issue.
[ Secret Anglo-Irish air defence agreement dates back to the Cold War eraOpens in new window ]
“This is a matter of considerable public interest and full disclosure of any arrangements with foreign governments in respect of Irish defence capacity is required,” he said.
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When pressed as to whether Sinn Féin would maintain the arrangements if the party were in government, Mr Carthy noted the statement demanding further information.
Asked if this meant that Sinn Féin wanted more information before deciding its position on the defence arrangements, he replied: “exactly”.
The revelations that successive governments have maintained a standing arrangement since the early days of the cold war to allow the British Royal Air Force to police Irish airspace against Russian intruders come against a background of increasing tension between Nato, the EU and Russia over the Ukraine war.
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It also comes at a time when the future of Irish defence policy, including the country’s traditional military neutrality, is due to be discussed at public forums next month. Senior Government figures, including Mr Martin (who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs), have called for a discussion on military neutrality and especially of the triple lock mechanism, which means that Irish overseas deployments must have the agreement of the United Nations Security Council — effectively giving Russia a veto.
When asked about the disclosures in The Irish Times, Mr Martin replied: “We don’t comment on national security issues and that remains the case.” But, he said, “anything we do is fully consistent with Irish sovereign decision-making and fully consistent with Irish military neutrality”.
Asked if the agreement, which was drafted in the early 1950s to combat a threat from the Soviet Union and has been renewed and updated since then, could be seen as anti-democratic or contrary to the spirit of the “triple lock” in that it was not open to scrutiny by Dáil Éireann, Mr Martin disagreed, stressing again it was fully in line with Ireland’s sovereign decision-making.
“Anything we do in the realm of national security is consistent with Irish sovereign decision-making and with our policy of military neutrality which relates to decisions that have to be taken either through the Oireachtas or by Government,” he said.
