Irish neutrality

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/02/11/neutrality-no-longer-seen-as-viable-posture-for-europe-post-ukraine/

Ukraine was the point of no return in Finland attitudes. "Neutrality" has long evolved into "military non-alignment" and a gradual closening to Nato, now membership. For years polls had shown only 22 – 25 per cent supported joining Nato. But by June 2022 it was 75 per cent. And Sweden followed.
Even in Switzerland, officially neutral since 1815, 52 per cent of respondents surveyed in May and June favoured closer links with Nato.
Support for neutrality in Austria remains high, although EU accession in 1995 was a clear sign of transition to a broader interpretation of neutrality. Of those surveyed recently only 16 per cent favour joining Nato. But, surrounded by five Nato members, Austrians feel protected and it has been taken for granted that Austria can rely on external help in the event of an attack.
It shares with Ireland the largely unspoken assumption of a Nato security blanket, essentially freeriding on neighbours' willingness to come to our defence if attacked, a commitment made explicit now in the EU treaty. In Ireland, inevitably, squaring that reality will mean a gradual de facto reimagining of "neutrality" for a new age, initially with a commitment to a 50 per cent increase in defence spending.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/02/06/defence-forces-vulnerable-as-irish-neutrality-over-finnish-military-expert-claims/
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said a lack of resources within the Naval Service and Air Corps represented a serious "vulnerability" for the Republic. He agreed that, at present, if a significant threat emerged – such as the presence of a hostile nation's military in Irish airspace – Ireland would be dependent on Britain's Royal Air Force responding to investigate or, in an extreme scenario, take more lethal action.
Defence Forces officers also remain very concerned that Ireland does not have primary surveillance radar to monitor the country's airspace, which they describe as "basic" technology.
Asked what Ireland's defence vulnerabilities were and how they should be addressed, Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said: "Provide your Defence Forces with sustainable and reasonable long-term funding, that's one of the vulnerabilities you have inside your military."
Due to the changing security climate – with a much more aggressive Russia and cyberthreats coming from teams of hackers backed by rogue states – he believed "traditional neutrality is over". Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he said all countries had to "adapt" in their preparedness to defend themselves, starting with being able to monitor their seas and airspace.
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said the consequences of the war – higher inflation, increased fuel and energy prices, and millions of displaced Ukrainians – demonstrate how "everything could be weaponised... food, energy, human beings". This, he said, underlined the need for a "strong and agile" Defence Forces.

[Aristo 60]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTIRNnY1SZU

[Banks of the Bann]

Interesting article here on the state of Ireland's defence forces

https://www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/ireland-neutrality?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

[Look-Up!]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

[AustinPowers]

Last I heard, was  cables and pipelines are  protected by the  companies themselves , not the country's  defence forces

[seafoid]

Interesting article here on the state of Ireland's defence forces

https://www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/ireland-neutrality?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

https://www.ft.com/content/0b351091-3f82-4f2f-bef2-a52a35f009f2

Ireland, a non-Nato member which has historically relied on the UK and US for its defence, is particularly vulnerable to Russian sabotage; the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance two years ago has further increased its status as a relative outlier within Europe.

https://www.ft.com/content/4748d385-877b-40f3-a1ca-0b8ed5177658

Any damage to them could disrupt financial markets across Europe and the US and cause a giant internet outage affecting homes, hospitals, banks and businesses. Ireland also relies on subsea pipelines for most of its energy; a strike on such infrastructure could cut power to much of the country. Yet Ireland has no radar and no sonar. Caoimhín Mac Unfraidh, a former Irish naval commander who spent almost three decades in the defence forces, says the country's ability to protect the cables is "essentially zero". He adds: "We do not have a subsea inspection capability other than that based in our naval diving section, which would primarily be manned, and therefore limited in how deep it can go." As a former senior European security official puts it: "Ireland is undefended, it really is. It's absolutely shocking." When Ireland's navy spots a suspicious ship, it follows a decades-old procedure. "There's an etiquette to all this," says one person familiar with such encounters. "You don't get closer than two miles initially. Then at two miles you call them up and say 'hello, we're Irish naval warship' and you start talking to them, trying to get something out of them."

[seafoid]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

[Look-Up!]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

Annoys me when I hear the term freeload, which was the undertone of the article.

Everyone in Europe depends on these cables, was that not another point of the article?

So maybe the author can write another article on the freeloading Austrians, Swiss and Luxembourgers with no f*****g navies at all.

[PadraicHenryPearse]

Interesting article here on the state of Ireland's defence forces

https://www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/ireland-neutrality?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

the anonymous Tullmcadoo from '×'... a big FG supporter by their posts

[seafoid]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

Annoys me when I hear the term freeload, which was the undertone of the article.

Everyone in Europe depends on these cables, was that not another point of the article?

So maybe the author can write another article on the freeloading Austrians, Swiss and Luxembourgers with no f*****g navies at all.

We can't deal with drones or Russian interference. We can't deal with Russian ships entering our waters. We have 4 ships.

[Look-Up!]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

Annoys me when I hear the term freeload, which was the undertone of the article.

Everyone in Europe depends on these cables, was that not another point of the article?

So maybe the author can write another article on the freeloading Austrians, Swiss and Luxembourgers with no f*****g navies at all.

We can't deal with drones or Russian interference. We can't deal with Russian ships entering our waters. We have 4 ships.

Stating the bleeding obvious. Still doesn't explain the point of the article or solution to problem, apart from stating some of the bleeding obvious.

[Hand of God]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

Annoys me when I hear the term freeload, which was the undertone of the article.

Everyone in Europe depends on these cables, was that not another point of the article?

So maybe the author can write another article on the freeloading Austrians, Swiss and Luxembourgers with no f*****g navies at all.

We can't deal with drones or Russian interference. We can't deal with Russian ships entering our waters. We have 4 ships.

We also can't deal with British invasion and occupation. The biggest threat to Ireland has always been on our doorstep. Why are we so scared of the Russians?

[Dag Dog]

Why are we so scared of the Russians?

Because they are happy to damage the running of countries - neighbours and beyond.

[seafoid]

Interesting alright, if a bit preachy. I've read other opinions of the same type. Hit's on a few valid points but very unrealistic in others.

Doesn't explain exactly how Ireland is getting rich with data centres or having cables ran through our territorial waters either. The former is not a massive employer and is actually putting huge pressures on our NG using massive energy at discounted rates.

Doesn't explain how exactly we should be defending these infrastructures either. They come into our waters and go out again, it's a joint infrastructure for ALL of Europe. We're a small island of 5 million people with no military infrastructure, inclination or history. So it would be completely moronic to just dump all this shit in out waters and expect us to defend it. If they are arguing we are caught with our pants completely down, then we're not alone. And we've bailed out plenty with regards to Europe so far.

We can't defend the cables. We depend on them. We have to ask the Brits for help. We freeload. It's not serious.

Annoys me when I hear the term freeload, which was the undertone of the article.

Everyone in Europe depends on these cables, was that not another point of the article?

So maybe the author can write another article on the freeloading Austrians, Swiss and Luxembourgers with no f*****g navies at all.

We can't deal with drones or Russian interference. We can't deal with Russian ships entering our waters. We have 4 ships.

Stating the bleeding obvious. Still doesn't explain the point of the article or solution to problem, apart from stating some of the bleeding obvious.

We need to spend more on defence. The Navy and the Air Corps need to be equipped to defend the country's interests, same as any other country. Ireland spends 0.24% of GDP on defence.
The European Union European Defence Agency member state average spend on defence as a percentage of GDP was 1.6% in 2023. So we spend one sixth of the average.
The Army isn't ready to deal with loyalist trouble in a United Ireland either. There is a lot of catching up to do.

[Banks of the Bann]

Interesting article here on the state of Ireland's defence forces

https://www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/ireland-neutrality?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

the anonymous Tullmcadoo from '×'... a big FG supporter by their posts

It was written by a FG supporter...and?