Irish naval officers could be deployed as liaisons on foreign ships under new security plan

PLANS ARE BEING prepared for Irish naval officers to be sent to work in global maritime security agencies and they could be posted on foreign naval ships patrolling the waters off the Irish Coast, sources have said. 

The proposals are to be contained in the Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) which was published this morning at a ceremony in Dublin. 

At the launch this morning Minister for Defence Helen McEntee confirmed that for the upcoming EU Presidency and going into the future that Ireland will be engaging with foreign navies. 

“We’re actively engaged on whether or not we would need additional support from whether it’s the UK, France, or any other country, what that might look like, why we might need it, and how it might be utilised.

“Obviously the operational side of it is for the Defence Forces to engage with other Naval Services and other Defence Forces but I think it’s only prudent that we have that engagement that we explore what options are available to us, and that’s exactly what I’m doing at the moment,” she said.

The document is heavy on promoting and building greater relationships with security agencies, groups like NATO and militaries such as France, Britain and across the European Union. 

There will also be new legislation and plans and examinations of Ireland working directly with foreign navies to help secure the EU Presidency.

It is understood the relationships will be used to build a greater coordinated approach to incident response around critical undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines dotted around the Irish coast. 

To achieve that, sources have said, liaison officers from the Irish military, most likely from the Naval Service, will be deployed to locations such as Northwood in the UK where the Nato Allied Maritime Command is based. 

One military source told The Journal that this would be a necessity when Ireland has its own sonar capability as it would be sharing information with international partners. 

Sources said that the strategy will focus on developing a plan to deploy the liaison officers to multiple locations in global security organisations that support maritime security. A senior defence source said that a concept it is “to be explored” to place Irish officers on foreign military ships as liaisons.   

Ireland already does this in the policing sphere with gardaí posted to foreign agencies such as Interpol and Europol. Ireland does have liaison officers working in European military institutions and at Nato in Brussels as well as operations in the Mediterranean but the difference here is a much broader operational involvement in mutual security missions. 

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It would be a departure for the Defence Forces and the liaison officers, known as LOs in military speak would be separate to a broader proposal to place defence attachésés in embassies in Washington DC, London and Paris. It is understood a proposal to run that as a pilot scheme will go to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

It is understood that the document will also devise plans to broaden those international relationships to get closer to mutual defence initiatives such as the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). The JEF is a British led group of nine militaries that, among other operations, also patrol and monitor critical infrastructure to prevent hybrid attacks.

Sources said that Ireland would not join the core elements of the JEF but rather a wider group known as the JEF+. 

It is understood that work on the strategy in the Department of Defence has led officials to come to the point where they accept that it is likely that foreign navies will be needed to help secure the Irish EU presidency. 

The key driving force in the MSS, the sources have added, is that international relationships and closer ties will be the only way that Ireland can secure its maritime domain. Those relationships will also include work with international private companies.  

New laws needed

Another aspect of the Maritime Security Strategy, sources have explained, is that current Irish legislation will have to change to facilitate military operations to act more dynamically in dealing with threats such as the Shadow Fleet and drugs interdiction operations. 

The new laws will mean that the Irish Defence Forces will no longer have to act in concert with other agencies to take action. It would mean, for instance, that there will no longer be incidents such as in Operation Piano, which was the mission to capture the MV Matthew drugs trafficking boat, which saw members of the Army Ranger Wing having to be sworn in temporarily as customs officers. 

It is understood that the new legislation has already been drafted and the heads of the bill will begin their passage “urgently” through the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is anticipated that they will be signed into law by the summer. 

They will also examine other key legislation related to maritime security across government departments to close gaps in laws. 

Other plans in the document, sources have said, will include the creation of a National Maritime Security Centre to manage all the various strands. 

It is understood from a diplomatic perspective there is also work for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to focus on working to promote Ireland’s interests through the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos). 

During the EU Presidency the document also sets out that Ireland must host an international maritime security conference. 

Defence sources have been keen to stress that the document is not the final proposal on the area and is only a starting point. 

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