A series of inconclusive investigations into recent intelligence and security incidents have highlighted worrying deficiencies in national security in the run-up to Ireland’s presidency of the European Union. National security is not only about possessing operational capabilities to defend against threats; it is also about having clear systems of command and communication.

Ireland’s lack of the latter – which is highlighted by the long-delayed publication of a national security strategy – is a serious issue.

The first incident was the Government response to serious allegations about espionage within the Oireachtas – specifically reports in a newspaper last year that an elected representative had been compromised and manipulated by a foreign intelligence service. Further reports suggested that gardaí had found nothing to substantiate the allegations against the unnamed politician. But through it all the Government has remained largely silent, and the public is no wiser about which – if any – of the stories were correct.

Then there were the apparent sightings of suspicious drone activity in the vicinity of the flight path of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during his visit to Ireland in December, which sparked another investigation. In the days after the incident Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan concluded that this was a sophisticated operation “generated for the purpose of putting pressure on EU and Ukrainian interests”. Minister for Defence Helen McEntee told the Oireachtas in February that there was “a criminal investigation” and that she had “no doubt that there will be a result to that”. She went on to say that any potential deficiencies in co-ordination between Government agencies during the incident was “an operational........

© The Irish Times