Citizens’ Assembly could hold key to Defence Forces’ future

UCD academic Ben Tonra has said a civic forum would be ‘perfect’ to kick-start a national conversation on the role and function of the Irish military

Ben Tonra of UCD has said that Ireland has “never had a conversation as to what our neutrality meant in a post Cold War era”. Picture: Getty

Ireland needs to hold a citizens’ assembly to define the kind of Defence Forces that the country wants to respond to the changing threats of the 21st century, Ben Tonra, a UCD professor of international relations, has said.

A citizens’ assembly would be a “perfect” forum to kick-start a national conversation on the role and function of the Defence Forces, Tonra told the Business Post.

Such an assembly would also need to deal with a ...