The parlous state of the Ireland’s Defence Forces has again been laid bare by staff shortages leading to a reduction in operations.
In January our Crime and Security Correspondent Conor Gallagher reported that one of the Naval Service’s most modern ships has been forced to patrol without a functioning main weapons system.
The failing was due to a severe shortage of qualified naval ordnance technicians, which has left the service unable to maintain all its weapons.
Previously Gallagher reported that the Naval Service was sending out an average of one ship per day to monitor Ireland’s vast territorial waters, despite Government warnings of maritime threats from foreign militaries and organised crime groups.
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In today’s lead Gallagher outlines how senior military sources say Irish military flight operations are to move to part-time hours at the Air Corps headquarters and may soon have to cease entirely.
The move will have huge implications for rescue, medical and policing services.
As it stands, an acute shortage of trained air traffic controllers (ATCs) at the Air Corps’s only base at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, Dublin, is resulting in a move to a five-day-a week, daytime-only flying schedule.
This includes flights by the Garda helicopters.
The 505 Squadron, which is responsible for air traffic control, is supposed to have 21 personnel but in recent years it has been operating at about 50 per cent capacity.
Five personnel are due to depart shortly for the private sector, necessitating the move to a reduced schedule, which takes effect from June 7th.
Military sources said if just one or two more ATCs depart, Baldonnel will no longer be able to maintain flight operations.
The crisis comes as Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has promised a large investment in the Air Corps, which will soon be renamed the Irish Air Force.
This includes the purchase of a military radar system, four new helicopters, one new troop transport aircraft and a complete refurbishment of Baldonnel.
Eventually, combat fighter jets will be acquired to patrol Irish skies, Mr Harris has said.
The Defence Forces and Department of Defence both said they did not comment on operational issues.
The Government does have plans to ramp up Defence spending in the coming years but it is playing catch-up after many years of underinvestment.
Independents overboard
It was a case of Independents overboard as two Government-supporting TDs voted against the Coalition in favour of a Sinn Féin Bill in support of Palestine.
Barry Heneghan of Dublin Bay North and Meath East TD Gillian Toole broke ranks with the other Independents thatsupport the Government in a Dáil vote on Wednesday night.
But the Government’s majority is not at risk yet as the Dáil still voted by a margin of 87 to 75 against the Opposition party’s Bill that sought to curtail Israeli access to sell bonds through the Irish financial system
And while Heneghan and Toole did not support the Coalition on this occasion, it does not mean they will not back it (in all likelihood most of the time) in future.
As Jack Horgan-Jones and Marie O’Halloran report, Heneghan said he supported the legislation “because Ireland shouldn’t facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza”.
However, he also said he is “fully committed” to the Programme for Government.
He added that “as an Independent TD, I reserve the right to act on matters of conscience”.
Heneghan and Toole were part of the Regional Independent Group of TDs which convened around Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry during Programme for Government negotiations.
After the negotiations were concluded, Mr Lowry said the group would support the Government “on good days and bad”.
It appears from Henaghan and Toole’s votes on Wednesday that this will not always be the case.
Their move will likely irritate backbenchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who might like to break ranks occasionally on unpopular issues but are under the party whip and there are consequences if they do so.
But what happened on Wednesday was a demonstration why the two larger parties cast the net so wide in enlisting the support of nine independents during Government formation talks.
The non-party TDs can be a wobbly third leg of the stool in Coalitions.
Best Reads
Political Editor Pat Leahy reports that the State could face financial penalties totalling as much as €28 billion for failing to sufficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, experts say. It comes after and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report showed that Ireland’s progress towards the goal of reducing emissions by half is slowing. It will now only achieve reductions of 23 per cent in a best-case scenario.
In other environmental news whales have left Cork waters as sprat, their food source, is in short supply, a Cork-based businessman has said after abandoning tours of the waters. Colin Barnes, who ran a whale-watching boat tour company, has been put out of business after the departure of the cetaceans. Katie Mellet has the story.
RTÉ were back before an Oireachtas Committee on Wednesday. Current Affairs Editor Arthur Beesley reckons it was a drab sequel to firework show of two years ago starring Ryan Tubridy
Miram Lord writes the Montrose chiefs were back for “another grilling at the media committee barbecue – but where’s the beef?”
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar tells Jack Power that the European Union needs to ‘grow a bit of backbone’ and stand-up to Israel.
Harry McGee reports that the non-jury Special Criminal Court and the Offences Against the State Act are set to be repealed after more than 50 years in existence following the acceptance by the Minister for Justice of the recommendations of an expert review group.
However, the replacement of the legislation will not mean an end to non-jury courts. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that they remained necessary for certain cases and that had been a recommendation of the Independent Review Group, chaired by Mr Justice Micheal Peart.
Playbook
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is first up in the Dáil taking Parliamentary Questions from 8.47am.
Next up to be quizzed by TDs is Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers at 10:23am.
Leaders’ Questions is at noon.
Government business at 1.52pm is statements on flood relief.
TDs have an opportunity to raise “Topical Issues” from 4.17pm.
A Labour Party Bill aimed at giving the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission more powers to tackle “unfair prices” will be debated at 5.17pm.
There will be statements on Gaza in the Seanad from 9am.
The Committee on Defence and National Security will begin pre-legislative scrutiny of the Government’s proposals to scrap the triple-lock on the deployment of Irish soldiers overseas from 9:30am.
Representatives of the Arts Council and the National Gallery are expected to be before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from 10:30am. Expect TDs to delve into issues like the €6.7 million spent by the Arts Council on a new IT system that was eventually abandoned and the separate controversy over the €125,000 x-ray scanner bought by the National Gallery that lay idle for eight years.
The full schedule for the Dáil, Seanad and Committees can be found here.
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