2025-12-16

85. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the capacity of the Defence Forces and security forces generally to respond to drone incursions in Irish aerospace and to respond to reported suspicious drone activity near Dublin Airport during the visit of President Zelenskyy. [72050/25]

86. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence to provide an update on the drone activity during the visit of President Zelenskyy; to give clarity on the decision to not intercept these drones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72153/25]

89. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Defence her views on the reported drone sightings in north Dublin during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Ireland; and the measures in place to detect, deter and disable unauthorised drone activity during high profile visits from international dignitaries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72320/25]

The presence of drones in Dublin Bay during the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the source of much commentary internationally and domestically. We are facing into a crucial year in which security, and the ability of this State to ensure the safety and security of high-level meetings and the people attending them, will be under a good deal of scrutiny, which needs to come through. We need to consider the protocol with regard to the response to this and in terms of equipment. It is not something we wish to see repeated.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 86 and 85 together. I thank the Deputies for their questions. As this is my first parliamentary question session as Minister for Defence, I look forward to working with them constructively at what we know is an important time in the world, particularly for Ireland's position on a range of defence matters. As Minister, I am committed to the ongoing transformation and modernisation of Óglaigh na hÉireann across land, air, sea and cyber domains. It is essential that we continuously strengthen our defence capabilities in light of what is a changed geopolitical landscape since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in particular. As the Deputy said, a widely reported incident occurred on Monday, 1 December, regarding drones operating in the vicinity of a Naval Service vessel in the Irish Sea. Notwithstanding some suggestions, I will be clear that at no stage was the flight of President Zelenskyy compromised and the security operation, led by An Garda Síochána supported by the Defence Forces, was successfully deployed through multiple means, ultimately leading to a safe and successful visit to Ireland by President Zelenskyy, the first lady and their team. All of the circumstances, as you would expect after something like this, regarding the drone incident have been and are being investigated and analysed by the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána. At all times, the Irish Naval Service vessel operated within standard operating procedures, rules of engagement and the law of the sea and could have exercised the right to self-defence if it considered itself under threat. This is obviously a decision that has to be taken by those who are trained and who are dealing with the potential response. In the circumstances, the Deputies will appreciate that it is not appropriate for me to comment further on operational decisions, particularly in relation to deployment of military capabilities. As Minister, I will prioritise the delivery of counter unmanned aerial systems capabilities for use by the Defence Forces - in other words, counter drone technology, which is an urgent operational priority. I can confirm that procurement of same is well advanced. Today at Cabinet, I brought forward a memo bringing forward such capabilities. We have approved the preliminary business case. I have said clearly that we will now be partnering with France, although a number of other countries have engaged with us on this. The next stage is to engage in extensive and further detail with France. I will bring forward a further business case in the new year. On top of that, we will bring forward early next year the counter radar system, which will be up and running and in place before the EU Presidency next year. One of my key priorities as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained and developed in line with the Government’s decision to move to level 2 ambition as defined by the Commission on the Defence Forces. The Commission on the Defence Forces recommended the development of a primary radar capability to ensure that Ireland can maintain a complete recognised air picture. As I said, I brought this to Government this morning. A project team comprising senior civil and military personnel is continuing to progress the radar programme. This programme of work is ongoing and good progress has been made. When fully delivered, the recognised air picture will incorporate this suite of military radar systems. It will have the capability to detect all aircraft traversing our airspace, including any that may be operating with their transponders turned off. Full delivery of the programme will be complex. The timeline at the moment is out to 2028 but I have brought forward the counter drone elements of it, which will be procured and in place next year before the EU Presidency. As announced today the programme is moving to the next stages. We look forward to working with the Government and with France to make sure we have that in place as soon as possible. I assure Deputies that the Defence Forces are working closely with An Garda Síochána in response to these potential incidents we are seeing happening quite frequently across the EU. In the past couple of weeks I have regularly sat with colleagues across the European Council. We hear from colleagues in Lithuania that they are having significant hybrid threats with balloons in airspace. We have seen in Poland where explosions have literally taken trains off tracks. If it were not for some not exploding, there could have been significant loss of life. We are seeing other countries like Denmark and elsewhere where these types of threats are occurring more regularly. We have to be live to the fact that we are not immune to this. That is exactly why we are investing in the radar system, in particular. It is exactly why a significant proportion of the €1.7 billion of our capital plan announced last week will be invested in our radar system. That is why we are bringing forward the counter drone technology to be in place before the EU Presidency next year. That is why we are doing everything to make sure that where we can put in place new measures that they are done as soon as possible.

To be clear, there is no doubt but that the presence of drones such as this in our airspace is a threat to our national security. The neglect of the Defence Forces by the past three Governments, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in their various turns, has created a threat to our national security. The Minister spoke about bringing forward the radar picture, the anti-drone system and counter unmanned air system capabilities. That was due to be delivered in the autumn - quarter 3 of 2025. It is in the Commission on the Defence Forces. She is not bringing it forward. It is already late. In that context, it is a concern to me as to whether it will be in place before the EU Presidency. Realistically, it needs to be in place now. It is a huge concern that in the past there has been excellent co-operation between An Garda and the Defence Forces but to see both organisations briefing against each other raises significant concerns about the strength of the protocols that exist. We are not going to get into operational matters, because it would not be appropriate, but we clearly need to see protocols tighten up if there is a conflict in approach.

A lot of this has been well aired over the past couple of weeks but I have a number of questions. Will the Minister clarify if this is being treated as an act of hybrid warfare? Was air traffic control in Dublin Airport made aware in real time, or as close to real time, of the incident, and if not, why not? When was it made aware and what protocols underpin engagement with air traffic control in Dublin? Are there plans to release some form of footage relating to this to counter false narratives out there up to and including people doubting whether this actually happened? I, for one, believe it happened and believe this is a threat. However, I have concerns that without footage being released in some fashion that those false narratives could take hold and undermine us moving towards a more credible security strategy.

Reports of unauthorised drone sightings in north Dublin during the Zelenskyy visit are a matter of deep concern given the obvious security sensitivities involved. Such incidences highlight the real and present risk posed by drones during the high-profile visit. We can expect activity like this to persist when Ireland takes over the EU Presidency next year, as our counterparts in Denmark experienced during their Presidency. I raised this matter with the Taoiseach last week during Taoiseach's questions. In his response he advised that Ireland is developing radar capacity and that we are procuring equipment, that the Garda special detective unit is carrying out an investigation of the circumstances of the incident, and that we have already enhanced our anti-drone capabilities. Will the Minister advise what stage the procurement process is at, and when will the radar be delivered? Is there a date for that and when it will become operational? Will she also provide any updates on the Garda investigation into the sightings, and advise what threat assessments are carried out and will be carried out during the visits of international dignitaries?

I am responding to different questions. First, we all know there were drones. For anybody suggesting otherwise, we know that was the case. I repeat that at no stage did they compromise the security operation that was in place for President Zelenskyy's visit. I will say that we are taking this matter extremely seriously. That is why there is a review under way. That is why the Garda is conducting a review working with the Defence Forces. Of course, if lessons need to be learned about how different information was communicated and whether or not appropriate steps were taken. My understanding is that all appropriate steps were taken and all proper controls were followed. However, we need to make sure we can learn from any type of scenario like this because we are all aware that these types of incidents are not once-off. We are seeing them happen more regularly and that is why we are taking them seriously. It is also important to stress that this was a successful visit. We did not close down airspace. There was not any issue in terms of the plane or visit itself. That in itself shows that we have the radar capacity to identify them but we know we need to enhance our capability. That is exactly why we are investing in the way we are now. We have capacity already but we know there are gaps and we need to enhance it. When António Costa visited Ireland last week, he was asked the question, "Do you have confidence in Ireland's capacity and capabilities?" and his very clear answer was "Yes". It is important for all of us to be confident in the capacity of our Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána to defend this country and to make sure we have a successful Presidency. I certainly have confidence but again, there is more we need to do. Regarding the relationship between An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and I have spoken to the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces many times, including as recently as this afternoon, the Chief of Staff is in constant engagement with Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly. They are in constant engagement and that will continue, if not increase, in the run-up to the Presidency to make sure in our security operations, which will be led by An Garda Síochána, they are working closely together and that other agency, whether it is air navigation or anybody else on the ground, that need to be involved in part of the overall security operation is involved in that too. As regards our counter-drone technology, I hope to have a contract signed by the end of the year, which will mean we will have the technology bought before the first half of next year, that is, by May or June. In parallel with this, training will take place within the Defence Forces to make sure we have members that are able to use it. Of course, the Presidency will start in the beginning of July and I appreciate timelines may have changed but I am saying very clearly I will be signing a contract before the end of the year. We will have this capacity before the second half of next year and we will have it in place and operational before the Presidency starts. In terms of the overall Presidency, we will have the new security council, which has already met in this new government format and will be meeting soon. This is a structure that will be in place and will be meeting regularly throughout the Presidency. It is attended by members from An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the relevant Ministers and Members. This is a space separate to the work ongoing between the gardaí and the Defence Forces to make sure the preparations, plans and security measures that need to be put in place are in place and are operational for next year.

There are many comments I would like to make but the first relates to the timeline. It sounds extremely tight. It will be purchased within the first half of the year but that is not a lot of time for the personnel to get used to this and ensure protocols are in place and so on. What struck me most was clearly the visit of President Zelenskyy was very welcome and worthwhile but the Minister has talked about it proving the radar system worked. These drones were 400 m or 500 m away from the naval vessels. They could be seen with the naked eye, so it does not prove anything on that or tell us anything about our radar capacity. I note the report last weekend by Conor Gallagher in The Irish Times made the point the LÉ William Butler Yeats did not have radar-guided weapons in the way the previous flagship, LÉ Eithne, had and it was therefore constrained in its ability. Finally, Deputy Smith is absolutely right. There is no reason it should not be released. I believe it, certainly, but transparency is important here and we need to get serious about that.

If the Minister does not have the answer now, I would like her to come back on the question relating to when air traffic control in Dublin Airport was informed about this. According to my sources, I understand it was not informed about this and has led to some disquiet about different organisations talking to each other. We have fixed rules regarding drone activity and no-fly zones and for the major airspace to not have been made aware of that is quite concerning. That is not to overstate this because it was a successful visit, but we are trying to hold Government to account and find gaps that need to be improved, not just for the EU Presidency but for our overall security architecture. Again, underpinning all of this is the lack of a national security strategy. I will repeat as often as I can that we need to see that published and we need to ensure we can agree a strategy that works for militarily neutral Ireland in the face of hybrid and other warfare threats.

I was happy with the response I received from the Minister but I agree with some of Deputy Smith's sentiments.

We all agree the world we are living in now is changing and the types of threats we are facing are changing. We are no longer just thinking about warfare in terms of land incursions and what we are seeing, whether it is in Ukraine or elsewhere in the world. Hybrid threats are happening on a daily basis that are impacting people's day-to-day lives and businesses. Perhaps, there are also more sinister threats across Europe and the world. We have to be clear we are not immune to these types of threats and that is why we are investing the way we are in our Defence Forces. The capital plan I announced last week provides for a 55% increase in spending on the previous capital plan. I will look to make sure we can do as much as we can with that and where and if possible, to increase that further. Our current spending on the Defence Force in the past four years alone has increased by about 40%. If we look at the work being done following on from the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces and I am pleased that last year, for the first time in many years, investment in personnel did not go down but remained steady and is now starting to increase this year. We are finally starting to see an increase. There is an investment in the men and women of the Defence Forces and in our technology and equipment. A huge amount of work is also being done with the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána to make sure we have the appropriate measures and responses in place. For security matters, the House will appreciate there are things that cannot and should not be said when it comes to our security and it is important our Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána can work effectively. There are certain things that cannot be said but they are working extremely well together. We are looking, as we always need to do, to see what the emerging threats are and whether there is more we need to do on how we need to increase our capabilities. That is exactly what we are doing with the new radar system and with our counter-drone technology. If there is more we need to do, that is certainly something I, as Minister for Defence, will make clear in my engagement with Government colleagues, as well as within the Defence Forces.