Ian Paisley: Dublin should invest in its own defence to protect its sovereignty, not rely on the UK and the British taxpayer

Countless sorties are flown by the RAF – they won’t tell us how many – or the cost to the British taxpayer. The Ministry of Defence won’t even tell us what, if anything, the Republic of Ireland pays His Majesty’s Government for providing the much-needed security blanket.

Decades of chronic under-investment in the Irish Defence Forces means the country doesn’t have one fighter jet to its name. In fact, an Irish government-appointed Commission on the Defence Forces said the Republic “has no air defence capability of any significance”.

A state policy of neutrality has compounded the problem. It’s a mistake to think that because you are neutral, and don’t take sides, you will avoid becoming a target for a rogue state.

Neutrality is a cop-out. It masks a failure by government to live up to its responsibilities by not allocating proper levels of investment in military assets. To a growing number of TDs and senators in Leinster House, it is a matter of increasing embarrassment that their country is essentially defenceless and vulnerable.

Only a speedy re-appraisal of the current international threat level followed by a multi-billion investment in hardware and personnel will change this weak and unsatisfactory situation. We’re told Dublin will have a €20 billion surplus this year. A large slice of that bonanza from corporation tax receipts deserves to be earmarked for defence.

The United Kingdom has an agreement in place to “police” Irish skies and, it has to be acknowledged, that protecting the “back door” has obvious attraction for military strategists in London. However, this arrangement is shrouded in unnecessary secrecy, thus preventing parliamentary scrutiny and critical assessment.

This is not a bit of Dublin-bashing by a unionist MP, but rather a genuine attempt to have a meaningful debate about the inadequacies of Irish military readiness in all three services. Of course, a weak and unprepared neighbour has consequences for NI. An assault on the Republic or an attempt to sabotage vital communication infrastructure such as sub-sea cables could adversely impact NI.

Our government ought to encourage Dublin to modernise and re-equip, to stand on its own two feet to protect its sovereignty. The United Kingdom stands ready to help the Republic in world-class military training and the provision of weaponry that has proved so successful in the war in Ukraine.

The Republic of Ireland cherishes its ties with the United States of America and I know that a commitment by Dublin to end out-dated and unworkable neutrality and step into the NATO fold would be warmly welcomed.

Since Putin’s unprovoked aggression, Sweden and Finland have understood the clear benefits of NATO membership; Finland has become a fully-fledged member and Sweden will follow shortly. The island of Ireland is on the periphery of Europe which is not to say it would be immune to an attack by Russia. To think that its geographic remoteness would serve it well is pure folly. That stark realisation alone should be sufficient reason to join the alliance.

The EU, too, must look with a raised eyebrow at the Republic’s determination to stay out of the alliance. Taking Ukraine refugees is laudable and necessary, but Dublin must do more and stand with the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland to deal with the threat from the East. We know only too well the dangers of doing nothing, of standing on the sidelines with our hands in our pockets and letting fascists and bullies run amok.

The Republic is consistently keen to trumpet its European credentials. The really hard bit of that involves not mere words but making a stand for what is right. That time is now. Instead of boasting it has lots of resources from its financial washing of other nations corporation tax then spend some of that on national security and defence.

The fact is up to now the Irish has been anti NATO and some of its MEPs were less than committed to support efforts against Russian aggression. Sinn Fein, if it becomes the next government in the Republic, will have vital questions to face about NATO and its neutrality and its continued reliance as a country on the RAF for air defence and the British Home Office for border security intelligence. What way will they blow? The current government has a duty to face its responsibilities or else be called out that they want the luxury of British air defence with little cost and all the hypocrisy of claiming to be neutral that goes with it.

I’m suggesting a new and soundly based relationship with the Republic, one that replaces the decades of lecturing the British government and instead looks to the creation of a new and mutually beneficial relationship that’s designed to better protect all our people.

Ian Paisley is the DUP MP for North Antrim.

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