Mr. Barry Andrews:

First, on the referendum, I have answered that question earlier. I would be very concerned about putting language into the Constitution. The lawyers would be the biggest winners. We would have a lot of problems. Once again, I would say I have confidence in the powers of scrutiny of this committee and of the Seanad and the Dáil.

Second, on the question of the troop numbers, in Camp Shamrock, where I visited about two or three years ago, it was a Polish-Irish battalion and there is currently a Spanish camp commander there. The Senator is asking about the public perception if we end up having someone who is not from Ireland commanding Irish troops. Irish troops have commanded non-Irish troops and vice versa. It is very good that we have interoperability and that we also learn from the best. We want our troops to be trained by the best, to have the best equipment and the best experience so that they are there and prepared. That is the whole idea as far as I understand it.

Third, on Russia, the Senator is right about the conventional capacity. It is probably very limited but hybrid warfare is where we are at, especially for Ireland where we have threats to critical infrastructure. We have heard so much about cables but there are also threats to pipelines such as our gas pipelines. We rely so much on two gas pipelines that come across from the UK for our electricity and everything that flows from electricity, and we have seen Russian ships having to be escorted away from them. Hybrid warfare is cheap. Drone warfare is cheap and it is evolving every few months.