It may be time to reconsider our neutrality

e presence of Russian ships loitering with mysterious intent in Irish waters for the second time in a matter of weeks is a chilling reminder of how warfare has changed. It also adds fuel to any future debate about Irish neutrality – should we run for protective cover with the 31 NATO member nations which undertake to defend fellow members against attack by a third party?

e ships inside Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) have been monitored by both the Irish Air Corps and the Maritime Defence Force. eir presence has been interpreted in some quarters as a test of Europe’s weak ank. e Russians have not so far broken any international law but the ships could be taken as threat by Russia to the busiest data communication cables in

Europe. e network of 16 cables under the Atlantic carry 97% of global internet connections between Ireland, the US, Britain and Europe and an attack on them could cripple Western economies.

Neutrality has been part of our national identity since the 1930s but, nearly a century later, it can seem like a nostalgic attachment. Warfare has changed. Now disruptive techniques include covert sabotage, cyber attacks, disinformation and interference in elections. Recent examples that show the kind of havoc that can be wreaked include explosions and leaks on the Nord Stream gas lines 1 and 2 (denied by the most likely culprit Russia); the criminal cyberattack on the HSE last year which cost around €80 million; and alleged interfer- ence in the US elections.

Perhaps our stance on neutrality, which has always been partisan, given arrangements like the Donegal Corridor for allies during WWII and refuelling NATO military aircraft at Shannon, should alter given a changed world.

A discussion on our neutrality – along the lines of the Shared Island initiative and the Citizen’s Assembly – has been promised here for later this year but this will not, we are told, be a prelude, to joining NATO. Perhaps it should be and certainly there is a greater willingness by the public to reconsider our neutrality. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, support for joining NATO has increased to 48% according to a poll last year. Should we continue to stay neutral, while bene tting from the protective e ect of our stron-