The Irish government is planning the largest increase in defense spending in the history of the state.
Defense spending will rise from 1.1 billion euro to 1.5 billion euro by 2028, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed.
Ireland has been forced to review its defense spending since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
Speaking at McKee barracks in Dublin, Mr. Martin said the plan shows the government’s commitment to “this vital service."
“The action plan we’re launching today reflects our commitment to invest in the future of this vital public service,” he said.
“And to build the agile and modern defense forces our society requires.
“Overall, we’ve committed to significantly increased spending on defense, increasing the budget by fifty percent to 1.5 billion.
"We’ve committed also to increasing the size of the Defence Forces by an extra 2,000 personnel over and above the current establishment of 9,500.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, said the plans were “extraordinary” and “ambitious”.
He said: “Since the invasion (of Ukraine), we have seen a number of EU member states take their own historic decisions – whether that is the decision of Finland and Sweden to apply for Nato membership or the decision of the Danish people in a referendum to reverse their opt out from the EU’s common security and defense policy, or indeed the historic decision by Germany to dramatically increase their financial commitment to defense spending.
“All of these changes are signals that the world around us is changing, and Ireland needs to respond also.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Irish Times, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ireland would be a welcome addition if it voted to apply for membership of the organization.
“And again, it’s a sovereign Irish decision,” he said. “NATO will never put any pressure on any country to join the alliance.”
