On September 24 the Department of Defence released its latest white paper on Irish security policy. Just as other government departments fail to interpret the signs of the times we live in, the Department of Defence is no different, as its supposed “strategy statement” dedicates more discussion to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the impending doom of “Climate Change.”
According to the document, Ireland’s Defence Forces budget will increase from €1.1 billion to a whopping €1.5 billion. With that extra €400 million, perhaps the Defence Forces could afford to pay its Reserve Defence Forces part-time again? The decision to revoke the Defence Forces policy of paying its reserve members reflects the dynamics of Irish government affairs in a uniquely twisted manner: there are more civil servants in the Department of Defence—many of whom are likely employed for low-quality cubicle desk jockey work—than there are Irish soldiers.
The creation of an External Oversight Body, made in 2023 and set to continue under the new “strategy statement” promises to reshape the workplace culture of the Defence Forces and monitor the behaviour of its personnel. The creation of this body, rather than assisting the Defence Forces in their mission to protect Irish citizens and the security of the state—will be yet another bureaucratic millstone around the neck of the Defence Forces, creating more jobs for hapless civil servants who don’t understand what they are doing.
The document itself, no doubt written by civil servants, demonstrates the same trappings and failures of every other department—a unique obsession with liberal ideas such as a vague commitment to “equality” that will likely provide Irish soldiers with yet another bureaucratic headache.
Outlining how the Irish “Defence Sector” is responsible for 3% of public sector carbon dioxide emissions, the document is clearly more focused on hamstringing the capacity of Irish troops than it is providing them the tools they need to defend our country. The commitment to introducing electrical vehicles to the Defence Forces will come to any military analyst as a shock—as such vehicles are notoriously unreliable, especially in combat settings. Will they be sending our peacekeepers in Lebanon and Kosovo to drive around in Teslas on the frontlines to take photo-ops for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? No question, of course they will.
The fact that the Irish Defence Forces are being actively restricted by ludicrous vanity-projects of the Irish civil service like the SDGs, equality, and Climate Change, demonstrates once again that the Irish government and civil service are collectively experiencing a manic delusion. The unfortunate outcome we will see as a result of these decisions, is a reduction in the ability for the Defence Forces to retain its personnel as they move on to greener pastures outside of the reach of Ireland’s pathetic civil service.
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