International Security Policy: Background information

The Consultative Forum is designed to build public understanding and generate discussions on the link between the State’s foreign, security, and defence policies.

Thematically, the Consultative Forum will look at Ireland’s work to protect the rules-based international order, through our engagement in peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and arms control and disarmament.

It will look at new and emerging threats, including cyber, hybrid, disinformation and threats to critical infrastructure.

The Forum will also examine our current and future engagement in the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), as well as our existing relationship with NATO through the Partnership for Peace. The Forum will be a broad discussion, which is not designed to focus on the binary issue of neutrality nor the issue of NATO membership.

• We are living in a world of interlocking and simultaneous crises of a geopolitical, economic and environmental nature.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine challenges European and global security and the credibility of the rules-based system. As a small nation, Ireland is reliant on the protection and enforcement of the principles underpinning the UN Charter to ensure our own security and sovereignty.
• The challenges of taking decisive collective action at the United Nations is also hampering the international community’s ability to comprehensively respond to conflicts.
• Ireland has benefited from increasing international connectivity. We are an economic gateway to Europe for companies from around the globe, and our population has links across the world, both through the Irish overseas diaspora and as a result of immigration to Ireland. However, as well as bringing communities together and opportunities closer, a more globalised world has also brought threats closer to home.
• New and evolving threats, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber warfare, terrorism, disinformation, and hybrid threats, pose further challenges to Ireland’s security. As we have seen with the attack on the HSE in 2021, Ireland is vulnerable to these non-traditional threats.

• Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and Donbass region in 2014, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 fundamentally violated the underpinnings of European collective security.
• The Helsinki Final Act, signed in 1975, has been the foundation of European collective security for almost fifty years. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with 57 participating States including Ireland, seeks to advance the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including sovereign equality, refraining from the threat or the use of force, inviolability of frontiers, peaceful settlements of disputes, and fulfilment in good faith of obligations under international law.
• Ireland has contributed to shaping the development of the OSCE and its conflict cycle toolbox as one of 57 participating States.
• Arms control and disarmament treaties have also played an important role in European collective security. In February 2023, Russia announced the suspension of its participation in the only remaining arms-control treaty limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear force, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). The Treaty also includes robust verification and compliance requirements, including on-site inspections, which are now also suspended.
• The suspension of New START follows the demise of other strategic arms control treaties, including the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 2019. The INF led to the elimination of almost 3,000 intermediate range missiles, and was a central pillar of the European security and arms control architecture.
• Ireland has a strong tradition of nuclear disarmament and has helped to shape the modern multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation regime. However, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General has warned that the risk of nuclear weapons use is higher now than at any time since the height of the Cold War, and there is a very real prospect of a renewed nuclear arms race. China’s expanding nuclear arsenal, together with new technological developments further complicate the picture for the future of arms control.

• Ireland is a highly digitised society, increasingly reliant on technology for the delivery of social, healthcare and other services, with a developed technological base and home to a large proportion of Europe’s data and the European headquarters of a number of the world’s largest technology firms.
• Digital threats are a permanent fixture in today’s society. The threat posed by criminals, including ransomware operators as was seen in the 2021 ransomware attack against the Health Service Executive, has escalated in recent years.
• State actors have developed capabilities to conduct espionage operations and disruptive cyber-attacks. In addition, non-state actors, such as hacktivists and terrorist groups, also engage in malicious online activity.
• A safe, open, stable, secure and free cyber space is a priority for Ireland’s continued security and prosperity.
• In Ireland, the National Cyber Security Centre has the lead role for overall domestic cybersecurity focussing on the protection of government networks and critical national infrastructure. The 2019, whole-of-government, National Cyber Security Strategy sets out a range of measures to enhance Ireland’s cyber security and resilience to malicious online activities.
• At EU level, 2020 Cybersecurity Strategy for the Digital Decade and the 2022 EU Strategic Compass set out am ambitious framework to enhance the resilience of EU network infrastructure, while strengthening the EU’s ability to prevent, deter and respond to cyber-attacks.
• Ireland has strong international engagement on cyber issues, including through the EU (PESCO Project on Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform), through partnership with NATO (e.g. Malware Information Sharing Programme; membership of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence) and at the OSCE as an important regional forum for European cyber-security; and as a founding member of the Counter Ransomware Initiative.
• While there has been progress in building consensus on the application of international law in cyber space through UN processes, this work remains unfinished with no agreement on a permanent UN forum for the consideration of these issues.

• With an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (the area stretching to 200 nautical miles off a country’s territorial waters) of close to seven times our land area, maritime security is an area of strategic importance for Ireland.
• Protection of critical infrastructure is a specific priority, particularly given the energy pipelines and subsea cables that pass through our EEZ. Ireland also has ambitious offshore renewable plans and the security of energy infrastructure will become more relevant in the coming years.
• Protection of critical infrastructure is an area of growing concern globally. The recent shifts in European security, increasing use of cyber and hybrid attacks and specific incidents such as the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, have brought those concerns into sharp focus.
• Following the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, additional measures were put in place by the Defence Forces to ensure that Ireland’s critical offshore infrastructure, including data cables, are protected. There are also a number of international initiatives under which Ireland is working with partners to safeguard the protection of our offshore infrastructure.
• The EU’s new Critical Entities Resilience Directive, once transposed into legislation, will create a framework to support critical entities in ensuring are able to prevent, resist, absorb and recover from disruptive incidents, whether they are caused by natural hazards, accidents, terrorism, insider threats, or public health emergencies.
• The EU Maritime Security Strategy and Action Plan is currently being updated to reflect the evolving geopolitical landscape, climate concerns and growing cyber and hybrid threats. Climate is also expected to be the key focus in the new strategy.
• There are also opportunities for cooperation on maritime security in the context of Ireland’s relationship with NATO. Ireland is in the process of renewing its partnership through the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme mechanism. The areas which could be strengthened under the new framework include improved maritime situational awareness and wider cooperation on civil preparedness and resilience including undersea infrastructure.

• A hybrid campaign is an action conducted by state or non-state actor, with the aim of undermining or harming a target by influencing decision-making at the local, regional, state or institutional level. Such actions are coordinated and deliberately target democratic states’ and institutions’ vulnerabilities. Such campaigns can take place, in the political, economic, cyber, military, civil or information domains.
• Hybrid threats are conducted using a wide range of means and designed to remain below the threshold of detection and attribution. While they have long existed, they have become much more potent and prevalent as a result of technological advances and the increasingly interconnected nature of our societies.
• As a highly globalised state, Ireland cannot rely on geographic isolation for its defence, and is potentially at risk both directly and indirectly from such hybrid threats. Last year’s report by the Commission on the Defence Forces also noted that, in an in era of intensified great power competition, the State can expect a growing risk of becoming a target of hybrid activity either against Ireland itself or the EU as a whole.
• Ireland is implementing a range of measures at national level, including increased investment in the National Cyber Security Centre and the introduction of the 2022 Screening of Third Country Transactions Bill 2022. In January, Ireland joined the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki.
• In the information domain, hybrid actors, including locally based proxies, engage in spreading information that is known to be false for the purposes of interfering in democratic processes and undermining confidence in democratic institutions.
• The EU has enhanced its focus on hybrid threats following the unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ireland has also introduced measures to safeguard the electoral system and to address disinformation through the Electoral Reform Act and the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act. These have provided for the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin and Coimisiún na Meán respectively. A new National Counter Disinformation Strategy is also under development.
• The fundamental challenge for States, industry and the media is to ensure public trust in the integrity of information. Tackling disinformation requires multidimensional, multi-stakeholder responses that are well grounded in human rights and the proactive engagement of States, companies, international organizations, civil society and the media.

• A joint Civilian/Military Research, Technology and Innovation Unit (RTI) for the Defence Organisation was established in January 2021 to assist in developing a research, technology and innovation ecosystem nationally and to encourage Irish engagement across the EU.
• In 2021, the RTI Unit partnered with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and launched the €2.4m SFI/Def Org Innovation Challenge. Five defined challenges with a defence focus and a clear associated societal benefit and the opportunity to address open disruptive ideas were presented to research institutions. An international review panel assessed five teams’ projects. Research grants of €1m and €0.5 million were awarded to the winner and runner up projects in December 2022.
• Ireland has participated in the European Defence Agency (EDA) since July 2004. The EDA assists EU Member States to improve defence capabilities through European cooperation. The primary reason for Ireland's participation in EDA projects, including maritime surveillance, cyber, counter IED, satellite communications and military search, is to support peacekeeping and international crisis management operations.
• EDA has established 15 specific Capability Technology groups to undertake research and technology activities, with membership from governmental organisations, research and technology organisations and industry.
• The RTI Unit coordinates Irish engagement in the EDA Hub for EU Defence Innovation (HEDI), a platform to stimulate and facilitate cooperation on defence innovation among Member States; and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS): the EU’s €2 billion investment scheme to support innovation and entrepreneurship on critical technologies in the European defence industry.
• The European Defence Fund (EDF) was adopted in 2021 and provides co-financing (€8 billion for defence research and capability development over 7 years from 2021-2027) from the EU budget for industry and research institutions in EU Member States to foster defence cooperation.
• Irish industry and research institutions with expertise in the dual civilian-military use market have potential to access funding through positioning on the supply chain, and in the ring fenced funding for projects comprising Small and Medium Enterprises and Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.

• In accordance with commitments given in the Programme for Government, an independent Commission on the Defence Forces was established by Government in December 2020. The report recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covers high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.
• There were 69 main recommendations and with sub recommendations there were 130 recommendations in total.
• Since the launch of the Report the Government has made a number of commitments which among others include:

- Approval of a High Level Action Plan and need for HR and cultural transformation.

- Approval of a move over a six-year period to a level of Defence Forces’ capability equivalent to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out by the Commission.

- Significantly increase spending on defence, rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028. (Note: this marks the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the Irish State.)

- An increase in personnel numbers of 2,000 over the current establishment of 9,500.

- Intention to establish a Capability Branch (civil-military) and an Office of Reserve Affairs.

• Under the UN Charter, the UN Security Council is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council has 15 members - ten countries that are elected by the UN membership for two-year terms, and five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US). The five permanent members have veto powers, allowing each of them to block the adoption of any resolution of the Council.
• Ireland has served on the UN Security Council four times: in 1960; 1980-81; 2001-2002; and 2021-2022. During our most recent term, we delivered a number of important outcomes that are already making a real difference for people in conflict-affected countries, some of which include:
• Ireland negotiated a pioneering Resolution on Peacekeeping Transitions, which aims to ensure that, when UN peacekeepers leave, peace is sustained.

- We partnered with the US to negotiate a landmark resolution to ensure that UN sanctions do not impede the provision of humanitarian assistance.

- Ireland and Norway led work on successive renewals of the Syria Humanitarian cross-border resolution, ensuring that humanitarian aid can reach over four million Syrians.

- We led negotiations to renew the Security Council authorisation for the EU-led mission that plays an indispensable role in safeguarding peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Operation Althea).

- Ireland led the Council’s work on Ethiopia, focusing international attention on the catastrophic humanitarian crisis caused by the war, and supporting UN and African Union mediation efforts.

- The promotion of gender equality and women’s participation was a priority across all of Ireland’s work on the Council, and we prioritised the defence of the human rights of the women of Afghanistan.

- Working with Niger, Ireland led negotiations on what would have been the Council’s first ever Resolution on Climate and Security. The draft Resolution was vetoed by Russia, despite having the backing of 113 countries.

• However, Ireland’s term on the Security Council will also be remembered for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. While Ireland delivered consistent and principled criticism of the invasion, Russia used its veto to prevent the Council from taking any concrete action to end the war.
• In total, the veto was used five times by Russia during Ireland’s Security Council term, and once by China. In practice, the threat of a veto by a permanent member, rather than its actual use, is often enough to prevent the Council from taking action. Ireland has consistently called for reform of the Security Council, including the abolition of the veto.

• Under the UN Charter, the UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The UN Security Council may adopt a range of measures, including the establishment of a UN peace mission or the authorisation of action by a group of States or a regional organisation (e.g. the EU or the African Union).
• Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to help countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. UN peacekeepers provide security and support in peacebuilding.
• Ireland is the only country with an unbroken record of service in UN peacekeeping missions since 1958. Our peacekeepers are recognised internationally for their expertise and experience.
• When the UN Security Council authorises a peacekeeping operation, UN Member States are invited to contribute the personnel required for UN peacekeeping operations. The Government decides on a case-by-case basis whether, when and how to commit Defence Forces personnel to peacekeeping operations authorised by the UN Security Council.
• At the UN Security Council, the five permanent members of the Council (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) have a veto power on decisions, including those related to the mandates of peacekeeping operations.
• At a national level, the deployment of Defence Forces personnel overseas is governed by the Defence Acts (dating back to 1960), which provide a ‘‘triple lock’’. This means that deployment for overseas peace support operations may currently only take where:

- that operation is mandated by the UN

- that deployment is approved by the Government

- that deployment is approved by Dáil resolution if the proposed deployment is more than 12 personnel.

• Under these rules, Ireland may not deploy more than 12 members of the Defence Forces overseas unless the mission has been authorised by the UN Security Council.
• Of the 71 UN-mandated missions since 1948, 13 remain in operation today. The Security Council has approved no new peacekeeping missions since 2014.

• Ireland’s foreign policy is guided by the belief that all countries have an equal right to live in peace. A commitment to international law is enshrined in the Constitution and is one of the core principles of Irish foreign policy. We believe that the multilateral system, with the UN Charter at its heart, remains our strongest protection and that all nations have a role to play in promoting international peace and security.
• During Ireland’s recent term on the UN Security Council (2021-22) three principles guided our work: building peace, strengthening conflict prevention, and ensuring accountability. Ireland sought to strengthen provisions related to accountability, respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, women’s participation and recognition of the links between climate and conflict.
• A strong international criminal justice system is central to fighting impunity and to deterring future violations of international law. Ireland strongly supports the International Criminal Court. Our approach to accountability extends not only to the criminal responsibility of individuals for the commission of atrocity crimes, but also to the political and legal accountability of States for their behaviour, in particular for breaches of their international obligations.
• Ireland takes a holistic and integrated approach, supporting conflict resolution and peacebuilding in our political, development and humanitarian work, through the multilateral system but equally through ongoing bilateral and civil society engagement.
• Ireland’s engagement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding is grounded in our own experience. We believe that inclusive approaches, which place human rights at their centre, ultimately lead to more enduring and sustainable peace.
• All peace processes are unique, however, we support lesson sharing, in the belief that we can learn from each other. For example, lesson sharing is a key part of our engagement in Colombia, where we take a very active role in supporting the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement, as well as the protection of human rights defenders, indigenous communities and civil society space.

• The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) involves Member States working together on challenges affecting the security of the European Union.
• The Balkan wars in the 1990s demonstrated that the EU was not well equipped to act in a security crisis on the continent. Acknowledgment of these limitations led to the development of CSDP and the establishment of military and civilian missions to help foster peace and stability. Since the early 2000s, CSDP has continued to evolve and Member States have developed mechanisms and policies to work more closely on security challenges impacting on the lives of EU citizens.
• As CSDP matured, Ireland sought and received legal guarantees that the EU’s security and defence policy would not affect or prejudge Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality and these were codified in the legally-binding Protocols attached to the Lisbon Treaty, which state that, “The Treaty of Lisbon does not affect or prejudice Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality”. At the time of the Referendum on the Nice Treaty in 2002, the Constitution was also amended so that “Article 29 (4) (9) sates that, “The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence . . . where that common defence would include the State”.
• CSDP missions are only present at the request of the local authorities, or when mandated by the UN Security Council. There are currently 12 civilian and 9 military CSDP missions around the world. The most recently established is a civilian mission in Moldova, providing training and advice to help Moldova tackle cyber threats and counter disinformation.
• The Lisbon Treaty in 2009 introduced Article 42.7 placing an obligation on Members States to provide ‘aid and assistance by all the means in their power’, if another Member State is the victim of armed aggression. This clause has only been invoked on one occasion by France in the aftermath of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.
• 2017 brought about a new CSDP instrument – Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) with the objective of jointly developing defence capabilities. There are currently over 60 active PESCO projects with the decision resting with each Member State on whether to participate in any project. Ireland currently participates in 4 PESCO projects on cybersecurity, maritime surveillance, capabilities to respond to natural and manmade disasters, and capabilities to detect and defuse explosives at sea.
• The EU set out its vision for closer cooperation in security and defence in the Strategic Compass adopted in March 2022. The Compass agreed concrete actions in four areas:

- acting more decisively together to crises (Act)

- enhancing resilience to protect citizens from cyber, hybrid and disinformation threats (Secure)

- investing jointly in defence capabilities (Invest); and

- partnering with others to protect with rules-based international order (Partner).

• Irrespective of closer cooperation on security challenges, the Strategic Compass is clear that NATO remains the cornerstone of collective defence for those EU Member States that are also NATO members, and that the closer cooperation envisaged would be advanced in accordance with the specific character of the security and defence policy of individual Member States.

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, is a political and military alliance of 31 countries from Europe and North America. The Washington Treaty – or North Atlantic Treaty – forms the basis for NATO. Article 5 of the Treaty sets out the key provisions on common defence.
• Ireland is not a member of NATO. 22 out of 27 EU Member States are members, with Finland, the latest member, joining in 2023. Sweden is on the path to becoming a full member. Along with Ireland, Austria, Cyprus and Malta are not members.
• Ireland's relationship with NATO is conducted through Partnership for Peace (PfP), which Ireland joined in 1999. PfP is based on individual bilateral relationships between NATO and each of the Partnership for Peace countries. Most European countries joined PfP in the 1990s, including Austria, Switzerland and Malta.
• NATO’s standards are the benchmark for many of the military forces Ireland serves alongside on peacekeeping operations. Therefore, access to NATO training and standards, through participation in PfP, has been an important element in the development of Defence Forces capabilities and has improved the quality of our contribution to UN missions and UN-mandated missions, in particular by enhancing the Defence Forces’ interoperability with other military forces.
• Ireland is currently in the process of developing a renewed partnership with NATO through a new Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP). This framework provides potential new opportunities for cooperation between Ireland and NATO in areas such as maritime security, cyber and hybrid, climate and security, and enhancing resilience.

• Norway has a strong values based foreign policy, which focuses on the peaceful settlement of disputes and international cooperation based on international law, whilst also being a founding member of NATO. Security cooperation with NATO and Nordic partners is of central importance for Norway, but they also cooperate closely with the EU on security and defence policies. With Europe’s longest coastline, Norway has a strong strategic interest in protecting a complex network of pipelines and sub-sea infrastructure in the North Sea and elsewhere. Norway has mirrored EU sanctions on Russia following their illegal 2022 invasion of Ukraine and provided financial support to the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) in the form of voluntary national contributions.
• Finland and Sweden’s former policies of neutrality and later military non-alignment do not share the same roots, but the security policies of both have followed increasingly similar evolutionary paths. Threatening Russian military exercises and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted both Sweden and Finland to begin a process of expanding security and defence cooperation with their Nordic partners, EU and NATO members and the United States.
• Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, public opinion quickly and significantly shifted in favour of NATO membership in both countries. They coordinated closely on their membership applications in May 2022 and throughout the ratification process. Finland became a NATO member in April 2023, but Sweden’s accession has not been fully ratified yet.
• Switzerland is recognised as the traditional neutral state in the international system, with its neutrality enshrined in international law since 1815 and an even longer historical tradition. Switzerland maintains an armed and permanent neutrality that is constitutionally protected, but which has also evolved in some respects over recent decades. Switzerland has adopted successive EU sanctions on Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and while it does not currently permit the re-export of Swiss arms to conflict zones, there is a growing societal debate on this issue.
• All the above states adopt total defence postures that combine military and civilian defence responsibilities under a whole-of-society national defence concept. They have well developed defence industries and all implement military conscription with some variations. They also all hold international reputations as principled foreign policy actors with prominent profiles at the UN and with a focus on human rights, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, as well as conflict prevention and resolution.

• The legal status of neutrality during an international armed conflict is to be distinguished from a policy of neutrality. A number of States, including Ireland, pursue a policy of military neutrality or non-alignment in peacetime. It is a matter for each of these States to determine the nature and characteristics of its policies, which means there is variation in how states define and practice neutrality.
• Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality, pursued by successive Governments, is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements.
• The policy of neutrality is not set out in or required by Bunreacht na hÉireann. There are references to wider foreign policy principles in the Constitution, including

- Article 29.1 – “Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality…”

- Article 29.2 – “Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes…”

- In addition, Article 29.4.9 states that “The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence pursuant to Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union where that common defence would include the State.”

• Unlike Switzerland or Austria, Ireland’s policy has never been enshrined in international law or the Irish Constitution. The only constitutional stipulation is Article 28.3.1 which states that "war shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dáil Éireann." Since its formal adoption as state policy in the months prior to the Second World War, it has evolved in tune with international state practice, international collective security initiatives and policy choices of successive Irish governments.
• Successive Governments have stressed that Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality has not been one of isolationism. It is fully consistent with foreign policy, including our active approach towards peace support operations and crisis management, our contributions to conflict resolution and peacebuilding, our work on human rights and sustainable development, and our efforts to promote arms control and disarmament.
• Like other European neutral states, Ireland has not seen UN membership, EU membership or membership of NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme as prejudicing Ireland’s policy of military neutrality. Unlike other European neutral states, Ireland maintains a comparably small Defence Force with which to protect its neutrality policy, comparatively lower levels of defence spending and maintains comparatively strict limits on the scope of Defence Force deployments on peacekeeping missions.