An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Gerard P. Craughwell (IND), Labour Panel

During the visit of President Zelenskyy, Ireland was lucky. The drones out in the Irish Sea could have been a catastrophe for the arrival of the President of Ukraine.
What would that have done for Ireland? It would have highlighted the abuse or neglect of the Defence Forces and Ireland's defence and security by the Houses of the Oireachtas and not just the Government. Parties in this House have been involved in the Dáil and Seanad since 1998 when we started to run down the Defence Forces to where they are today. There is much speculation in the media about why the drones were not shot down. Firing 7.62 mm calibre ammunition into the air where civilian aircraft are flying is nonsense. Are there rules of engagement and, if there are, where are they? I am not aware of any rules of engagement. Was there co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces with respect to aid to the civil power? Many questions need to be answered, and they need to be answered in a public forum, not in some Cabinet room and not in some back room of this House. It needs to be in public. The public need to be reassured that this State is a safe place. Imagine the embarrassment if the leaders of the governments of the EU 27 refused to come here for a summit because this State is not safe?
We really need to get our act together. Four years ago, the Commission on the Defence Forces reported and absolutely nothing visible has been done. We are talking about going to procurement now for anti-drone equipment. This is being done now in December 2025, when we are taking over the Presidency of the EU in July 2026. This is nonsense, absolute nonsense. We need to have a debate in this House. I did already ask for the Minister for Defence to come in. I want the Minister to come in as a matter of urgency. Let us have an open and honest debate.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-09