20 August 2024
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie

Is Ireland’s Naval Service powerful enough?

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon says it is disturbing, but not surprising, to learn that the Naval Service is this year expected to carry out the least number of patrol days in decades

The Government’s failure to invest in the Naval Service has left Ireland highly vulnerable to drug smuggling and other threats to our national security, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.

File photo of two of Ireland’s Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs) which are used by the Naval Service at Haulbowline Naval Base.

Deputy Gannon, who is the party’s spokesperson on defence, said:

“It is disturbing, but not surprising, to learn that the Naval Service is this year expected to carry out the least number of patrol days in decades. It is nothing short of a joke to think that we are sending out an average of one naval vessel per day to monitor Ireland’s extensive territorial waters.

“This is a direct result of a failure by successive governments to come up with solutions to the recruitment crisis within our Naval Service – a crisis that has seen a worrying decline in staff since 2017 and impeded our ability to properly protect our waters.

“This makes Ireland a soft target for criminals. We know, for example, that every consignment of drugs seized in Irish waters by the authorities only represents a tiny fraction of what is successfully smuggled into the country every day.

“Failure to invest in our Naval Service has also left Ireland exposed to other security threats, such as the risk of malicious damage to underwater cables.

“This Government should be innovative when it comes to investing in the Defence Forces, which are in a state of disarray on so many levels. Instead, the architecture of the State continues to crumble on their watch.”