Special Report
Decades of underinvestment have left Ireland exposed
The country doesn’t need a large army, but it does need better paid soldiers and sailors, and equipment that is focused on the kinds of assault we might experience
In February 2022, the Commission for the Defences Forces — a body set up to assess the adequacy of Ireland’s military — offered the government a Goldilocks solution: three bowls of porridge of different temperatures.
One bowl was the status quo, essentially not investing anything further in the defence forces. The second bowl was to increase defence spending by around €500 million over the next six years. And the third was to increase spending by ...
