Defence must be prioritised, urges minister

“Over the lifetime of a ten-year white paper, I expect and believe that the prioritisation of defence spending will be a really important part of the defence debate.”

As part of his department’s ten-year plan, the minister said he would strengthen the Army Ranger Wing, Ireland’s elite special operations unit, to prepare for the real and persistent threat of terrorism to western countries.

“Recent experiences in Brussels, Paris and the attacks on western tourists in Tunisia provide stark examples of uncertainty and why there should be no complacency,” he said. “Because the future is so unpredictable, I think we need to enhance the capacity of our most highly trained units to have the flexibility both physically and mentally to respond to unexpected challenges.”

Ireland’s defence needs will be measured by ongoing reviews every three years. The white paper committed to replacing three of the country’s naval vessels, including the LÉ Eithne.

The minister said he wanted to increase the naval fleet from seven to a minimum of eight, in part to deal with the large number of migrants who are fleeing northern Africa. He said that migrant rescue missions by the Irish navy, though valuable, were not the solution to the displacement problem.

“We are seeing some countries in the European Union building walls and surrounding them with razor wire at the moment. Others are saying they won’t take a single refugee, and the governments that do are facing very difficult political consequences,” he said.

“At the moment, there are about 4 million displaced migrants in the world, most of them refugees fleeing conflict. We don’t have the capacity to take them all, we need to create stability in home countries. The European Union needs to be more proactive and intervene earlier,” he said.

The army will also be given new personnel carriers as part of the department of defence objectives.

The publication yesterday was only the second white paper on defence to be published by the Irish government. The first white paper, released in 2000, proposed closures of several army barracks across the country.

The army, navy and air corps are in the middle of an active recruitment drive and there are plans for 9,500 people to be in the defence forces by the end of the year. The department of defence said it wanted to maintain that number over the next decade.

Only 6 per cent of Ireland’s defence forces are female, which Mr Coveney said was not good enough.

“Although we haven’t given a figure in the white paper, I would certainly like to double the number of women in the defence forces,” he said.

“We are developing a reputation internationally for expertise in gender-based violence. Women have a really important role to play, particularly in overseas missions, and the kind of skills that they can bring to the Middle East and Africa can provide support, counselling and reassurance.”

Recruiting more people to the reserve defence forces has been made a priority and Mr Coveney’s department will also help to set up an Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training at the Curragh in County Kildare. The minister said the centre would be showcased as part of the 2016 Easter Rising commemorations.

The proposals

The department of defence has set out a comprehensive plan for Ireland’s defence policy over the next ten years.

Reserves
Simon Coveney described the reserves as “like joining a GAA club that’s permanently training and never playing a match”.

The minister accepted that recruitment for the Reserve Defence Forces had been disappointing.

While recruitment to the army, navy and air corps is on track, the number of people joining the part-time force is dropping off. Between 2006 and 2009, twice as many people were leaving than signing up.

There are currently less than 2,500 people in the reserves and the government hope to increase that to 4,500. Reserves will spend more time training with the defence forces and the army will start to regularly call on them for support and supplementary work.

Recruitment will also be made easier by scheduling interviews and training at weekends. Mr Coveney said a government recruitment drive would target those in medicine and information technology, two specialisms that the reserve defence forces are lacking.

Women
Ban Ki-moon, the general secretary of the United Nations, met with Enda Kenny during a visit to Ireland in May. He suggested to the taoiseach the benefit of Ireland having female peacekeepers, particularly in missions where sexual abuse and rape are used as weapons of war.

The white paper made a specific dedication to tackling gender-based violence as part of its peacekeeping missions and stressed the importance of troops having a “gender perspective” when counselling victims.

The minister planned to double the number of women in the forces from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2025. He added that promotional pictures of the army used in recruitment campaigns would always include women.

“Gender-proof” policies were made a priority, including reforming the complaints process for bullying and harassment. Career courses that require overseas postings and long training courses would be reviewed to ensure they do not discriminate against staff with childcare responsibilities.

Cybercrime
The World Economic Forum identified cyber-related threats as one of the highest global risks in 2013.

The defence department noted the number of multinationals based in Ireland who had significant IT and software requirements and the potential for economic repercussions in the event of a serious breach.

In an emergency situation, the defence forces are prepared to support the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE) in the communications department. Members of the defence forces have already been seconded to the CSIRT-IE.

Mr Coveney added that the ability to defend against cybercrime directly depended on how much funding would be allocated.

Social Responsibility Scheme for Young People
Disadvantaged young people aged between 18 and 24 will be offered training from the defence forces to help them stay in long-term employment. A pilot scheme, involving around 30 people, will take place early next year.

The defence forces will focus on teaching applicants skills in areas such as transport and logistics.

Special Forces
There are currently around 100 people in Ireland’s Army Ranger Wing (ARW). Its wide-ranging brief covers counter-intelligence, counter-insurgency, anti-hijack and hostage rescue missions.

The white paper proposed increasing the special forces unit by 50 per cent. The ARW is cited as Ireland’s best hope for a quick and effective response in the event of a surprise terror attack.

Entrance assessments involve abseiling, bridge-jumping, entrapment in a confined space, a mountain march and a cross country run.

Women have struggled to meet the force’s high standards, but Mr Coveney said there were no plans to lower the team’s requirements.

Migrants
The LÉ Niamh will return at the end of September and the government has already committed to sending either the LÉ Roisín or the LÉ Samuel Beckett in its place.

As part of the Irish navy’s ongoing rescue missions in the Mediterranean, the minister committed to replacing three naval ships, which he said were coming to the end of their lifetimes: LÉ Ciara, LÉ Orla and LÉ Eithne.

Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training
The purpose of the institute, which will be based in the Curragh in County Kildare, is to increase education on overall peace support and conflict resolution.

It will act as an extension of the UN peacekeeping school that has been training Irish and foreign soldiers at the Curragh since 1993.