Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Edward Timmins (FG), Wicklow

Is this country prepared for the threats posed by Russia to our national security? These are real threats to this country and must be taken seriously. There was an increase in Russian shadow fleet activity recently in Irish controlled waters. Our geography no longer protects us as it once did. We are very dependent on other countries to support us regarding maritime and air defences. We need to take steps to move away from these dependencies. This will actually help our independence and support our neutrality, which we treasure so much. We live in a rapidly changing world and we must respond to these changes in order to protect our way of life and our democracy which we value so much.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17