Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to repeat what Deputy Ó Cearúil has said but the meeting of 3 February is part of a series of meetings that are extremely important for Ireland with regard to planning our security and defence.

It is a changed world. We have an unstable Europe and an aggressive Russia. Unfortunately, we have evidence since 3 February that perhaps the US is not going to be a reliable security partner in the future. There are concerns that the future of Europe is being discussed over the heads of European partners in the European Union and the UK by Russia and the United States. That is of increasing concern. It is extremely important that Ireland increases and strengthens its co-operation with the European Union under the common security and defence policy and under PESCO. We realise that we are militarily neutral, but we are not a neutral country. We need to have this debate. We need to strengthen our own defences, both in the sea and in the air. We also need to strengthen our capability with radar. We also need to invest heavily in countering cybersecurity.

For people who feel that Ireland is not at war with anyone, we have been attacked repeatedly by Russia. We have been clear about the attack on the HSE. I know a practice in the west of Ireland, a small business, that was attacked and hacked. It cost the business thousands of euro in ransom and in putting its systems right. We are, unfortunately, in a hybrid warfare situation where Ireland is under attack. We need to take our position seriously. Most neutral countries, or countries that were neutral, such as Finland and Sweden, took their neutrality seriously and developed proper defence systems in their countries. We have been complacent and we need to grow up, mature and take our defence and security seriously. I am delighted that the Government is continuing the policy of co-operating with the European Union and strengthening that relationship.

See this speech in context