Irish neutrality

[Milltown Row2]

I'm not saying the Russians are my problem..

I couldn't give a flying shit tbf

But stop throwing out crap

I threw out a fact that they came to the UK under Putins orders to kill someone on foreign soil.

You keep switching (whataboutery) to something else, and now I love the Brits 

Try harder

[Franko]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

[Banks of the Bann]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

Here take a chill pill and have a go Franko, I've done the first part for you

I Franko, know for 100% certainty that Ireland will never be attacked or intimidated militarily by any other nation on this good earth, not now, or in the next 10-20-30 years.

I know this because:






p.s. it's amazing, no one has had a go at this yet. Maybe Franko will get the ball rolling.

[Milltown Row2]

We'll be under Sharia law soon enough anyways and be begging the Russians to invade to help us

I think if Putin is still in charge he'll definitely invade other countries on his border, or 'move in'.
 I think we safe enough in our life time. Russia will economically take 20 years to recover from this one.

[Franko]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

Here take a chill pill and have a go Franko, I've done the first part for you

I Franko, know for 100% certainty that Ireland will never be attacked or intimidated militarily by any other nation on this good earth, not now, or in the next 10-20-30 years.

I know this because:






p.s. it's amazing, no one has had a go at this yet. Maybe Franko will get the ball rolling.

You've no idea what you're talking about do you?

[Franko]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

Here take a chill pill and have a go Franko, I've done the first part for you

I Franko, know for 100% certainty that Ireland will never be attacked or intimidated militarily by any other nation on this good earth, not now, or in the next 10-20-30 years.

I know this because:






p.s. it's amazing, no one has had a go at this yet. Maybe Franko will get the ball rolling.

It takes a certain level of intelligence to find this 'amazing'.

[Banks of the Bann]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

Here take a chill pill and have a go Franko, I've done the first part for you

I Franko, know for 100% certainty that Ireland will never be attacked or intimidated militarily by any other nation on this good earth, not now, or in the next 10-20-30 years.

I know this because:






p.s. it's amazing, no one has had a go at this yet. Maybe Franko will get the ball rolling.

It takes a certain level of intelligence to find this 'really amazing'.

Oh do tell us all why Ireland requires almost no army, no navy and no air force.

You're 100% certain we will never need them are you? Cos if you're not, and you still don't want to spend the money, then it means you still want to let others do it for us.

p.s. No one suggested Ireland had to tool up to take on Russia by itself. But you already knew that. Sorry for blowing away your wee straw man.

[Franko]

So let's talk specifics lads.

What size of a standing army are we going to need to fend off this Russian invasion?

How many planes?

How many ships?

How many tanks?

Here take a chill pill and have a go Franko, I've done the first part for you

I Franko, know for 100% certainty that Ireland will never be attacked or intimidated militarily by any other nation on this good earth, not now, or in the next 10-20-30 years.

I know this because:






p.s. it's amazing, no one has had a go at this yet. Maybe Franko will get the ball rolling.

It takes a certain level of intelligence to find this 'really amazing'.

Oh do tell us all why Ireland requires almost no army, no navy and no air force.

You're 100% certain we will never need them are you? Cos if you're not, and you still don't want to spend the money, then it means you still want to let others do it for us.

p.s. No one suggested Ireland had to tool up to take on Russia by itself. But you already knew that. Sorry for blowing away your wee straw man.

Firstly... straw man... lol - see bold and cringe please


I'm not 100% certain

But one thing I am certain of, is that if we ever get invaded by a hostile force, unless others get involved, we're going to be toast regardless.  It's the way it has and always will be for a nation our size

So others are going to be 'doing it for us' anyway

But you're being very evasive on my question

What size does this army need to be?

Cos if you can't even tell me that much, it's hard to avoid the conclusion you're just another internet blowhard

[Armagh18]

What size is the defence force currently?

Is there any point spending a whole pile more for what will be the same result- if the US/Russia/Brits/France or whoever decided to invade tomorrow they'd blitz us,  (South Armagh aside )if we fired x amount of money at it, they'd still blitz us unless a friendly power decided to help us out..

[Main Street]

That's right, why bother with an army at all because we're gonna be blitzed in any event

Ireland could at least have a military that equals a relatively small republic such as Estonia with a population of 1.3m. Could we not manage that?
How is having an effective defence force contradicting a policy of neutrality unless neutrality also means bend over or turn the other cheek when a challenge comes?
For starters the country need maritime security and resources to maintain same and get funding for protection of undersea cables.

[seafoid]

That's right, why bother with an army at all because we're gonna be blitzed in any event

Ireland could at least have a military that equals a relatively small republic such as Estonia with a population of 1.3m. Could we not manage that?
How is having an effective defence force contradicting a policy of neutrality unless neutrality also means bend over or turn the other cheek when a challenge comes?
For starters the country need maritime security and resources to maintain same and get funding for protection of undersea cables.

We need deterrence. Like any good set of backs. We know what it looks like in sport.
 Currently we are a soft target.

[jb77]

If we get started on a nuclear programme then it will be the opposite of a soft target

[seafoid]

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2025/1211/1548324-ireland-politics/

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee will outline a €1.7 billion defence spending plan that will run until 2030.

It will aim to speed up the modernisation of the Defence Forces and to improve defence capabilities across land, air, maritime and cyber domains.

A key part of this initiative is the delivery of the Military Radar Programme, which will get under way next year.

There will also be millions of euro set aside for anti-drone technology which is particularly relevant given the sighting of drones close to the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his recent visit here.

More Air Corps helicopters along with an aircraft that can carry personnel and equipment over long distances will be purchased.

Major upgrades are also planned for the naval service's subsea capabilities while more funding will be available to renew the army's armoured fleet .

[Bord na Mona man]

Currently, a hostile power like Russia doesn't need to land 100,000 troops on the beach in Wexford. They could bring Ireland to its knees with far less manpower and effort.
The remote cyber stuff is one aspect.
I'd suspect a few dozen personnel, unknown, unchecked and unhindered could neutralise Ireland's energy, communication, rail network, ports etc in short time. 
We don't think it will happen, but we definitely have little means to prevent the possibility.

The countries in immediate danger from Russian attack are former Soviet states and countries in close proximity.
But, Putin and Russia generally has a big problem with prosperity and democracy to the west of them in Europe.
The more attractive an entity like the EU looks, the greater the pull away from Moscow.

Putin would have no problem taking advantage of Ireland's weak defence if it gave him an opportunity to destabilise Europe even further.

Being 'neutral' or canvassing that Russia and Ireland are good buddies and should remain so, is not a strong defence policy.

[Baile Brigín 2]

What size is the defence force currently?

Is there any point spending a whole pile more for what will be the same result- if the US/Russia/Brits/France or whoever decided to invade tomorrow they'd blitz us,  (South Armagh aside )if we fired x amount of money at it, they'd still blitz us unless a friendly power decided to help us out..

There is a whole heap of things short of full invasion need defending against though. Russia *will* act the bollocks during the EU presidency and as we saw last week, we need to be able to react better.