Ireland has long been a free rider in defense and security. With neutrality and spending 0.22 percent of GDP on its military in 2025, the country has no defense. And only four water vessels available on a rotational basis, patrol vessels which lack of technicians operating weapons, and zero fighter jets, Ireland is incapable of defending itself, its waters, and the undersea infrastructure that surrounds the island and on which Atlantic communications depend. Even today—in an age of heightened geopolitical threats—Dublin still lacks any coherent long-term security strategy.
Dublin has an immediate security problem to deal with: Embarrassment of its own powerlessness to deal with drone strikes during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit last December, Ireland is keen to avoid similar incidents when it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council—the government body that is the real power behind the European Union—along with its summits and ministerial meetings, next month. Hopeless to handle security on its own, Dublin recently announced it is seeking to engage the French Navy to provide temporary air cover during key European Council meetings.
Ireland has long been a free rider in defense and security. With neutrality and spending 0.22 percent of GDP on its military in 2025, the country has no defense. And only four water vessels available on a rotational basis, patrol vessels which lack of technicians operating weapons, and zero fighter jets, Ireland is incapable of defending itself, its waters, and the undersea infrastructure that surrounds the island and on which Atlantic communications depend. Even today—in an age of heightened geopolitical threats—Dublin still lacks any coherent long-term security strategy.
Dublin has an immediate security problem to deal with: Embarrassment of its own powerlessness to deal with drone strikes during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit last December, Ireland is keen to avoid similar incidents when it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council—the government body that is the real power behind the European Union—along with its summits and ministerial meetings, next month. Hopeless to handle security on its own, Dublin recently announced it is seeking to engage the French Navy to provide temporary air cover during key European Council meetings.
Facing pressure from the European Union and the United States, Ireland has also embarked on a defense program to begin addressing its biggest shortcomings. Here, too, Ireland cooperates with France. In January, Dublin and Paris signed a joint strategic framework which will continue until 2030. In February, followed a military cooperation agreement covering joint training, intelligence sharing, and other areas. More significantly, Ireland has outsourced its military procurement, including legal, administrative, and logistical control, almost exclusively to France.
Under the auspices of the new treaties, Ireland and France complete a succession of governments (G2G) procurement contracts. In fact, the Irish government commissions France to negotiate, implement, and sign contracts for important military equipment on its behalf. France will select the provider, determine the time frame and set the price terms—without any competitive bidding, independent Irish technical evaluation, or a mechanism to verify that Ireland is receiving value for money. Paris will also control the maintenance and supply required for the long-term use of this equipment, while also mandating the training of the relevant Irish forces.
French Directorate General of Arms (DGA), whose official purpose is to organize the French army and promote the sale of French arms, is now in charge of the rearmament of Ireland. Kwa kuzingatia utamaduni wa kina wa jimbo la Ufaransa wa kutumia ununuzi wa ulinzi kama sera ya viwanda——-inavyoonyeshwa hadi leo na hisa za serikali huko Thales, Safran, na mashirika mengine ya silaha-kampuni za Ufaransa zinaweza kuwa wanufaika wa kipekee wa hundi tupu ya Dublin.
Even before the latest round of Franco-Irish agreements, Thales was chosen in June 2025 to supply the Irish navy for the first time. towed sonarwhich is used by naval vessels to detect incoming submarines, for a €60 million contract. In December 2025, the Irish government also adopted opening of talks with Paris for a 500 million euro radar system. Times of Ireland explained This is like Ireland “effectively using the procurement system for officials in Paris.” Irish Defense Minister Helen McEntee he said that the French proposal was accepted because “it largely meets the needs of Ireland’s power.” What he did not say is that this large amount will be used without public bidding or competitive bidding. Basically, the French government decides which radar system is best for Ireland and which French supplier should get the contract.
In February, more G2G agreements were signature with France on Ireland’s purchase of up to €800 million of Griffon, Jaguar and Serval armored vehicles, the largest investment in the history of the Irish Army. Negotiations are expected to be completed in the coming months.
Ireland’s dependence on France has become almost exclusive. Between 2015 and 2024, Ireland imported French military equipment worth a total of 53 million euros. Since 2025, Dublin has signed contracts or opened negotiations with the French government for more than 1.4 billion euros. To put these numbers in perspective: Total Ireland Defense budget for 2026 it is only 1.5 billion euros.
Ireland’s defense marriage with France is transformative, but the dependency risks undermining Ireland’s military and strategic independence. French affairs are already straining relations with England, Ireland’s hitherto closest defense ally and most important neighbor—an effect that may have contributed greatly to the French rebellion. (Ireland is based on a 1950s mystery arrangement (where the Royal Air Force monitors and intercepts hostile aircraft in Irish airspace.)
Dublin’s unprecedented dependence could also damage transatlantic relations by giving France leverage over Ireland to challenge, for example, Dublin’s free-market, low-tax, American-leaning economic system. France need not openly threaten Ireland. When Ireland again blocks France’s priority in the Council of Europe, Paris could slow down the arms maintenance deal or delay the upgrade cycle.
For France, Ireland is also an important client country to advance its long-term strategic goal of European defense independence under French leadership.
Ireland fits into France’s efforts to build a bilateral defense cooperation network parallel to NATO based on French leadership, French equipment and French military doctrine. The template here is Vehicle Capacitythe 2019 French strategic partnership with Belgium that took place later extended including Luxembourg. The alliance standardizes doctrine, command and control, equipment, and maintenance across their land forces. The three countries are using France’s proprietary cyber-warfare system—to be called Scorpion– with their armored vehicles. This system will now include Ireland as well. Although the Scorpion is compatible with NATO networks, the software is owned by the French company Eviden, the hardware is provided by Thales and other French companies, and all access and upgrades are controlled only by Paris. The Belgian industry is related to the assembly of vehicles and the manufacture of additional weapons.
Already, France, Belgium and Luxembourg have Scorpion-enabled capabilities to fight as a cohesive force, independent of NATO. Ireland will now join the Scorpion platform as a non-NATO member.
Belgium’s experience should provide a dire warning to Dublin. In April 2025, the Belgian Court of Audit found that the contract for 442 French-made armored vehicles will end up costing almost 10 times the original estimate—14.4 billion euros instead of 1.5 billion euros. Belgian media too information various other differences of the contract, as well as clarity on the price and terms on the French side.
Protection is a state that maintains normal freedom while ceding control of its security to a more powerful protector. Having reached the end of a free ride in defence, the French defender is what Ireland have now chosen to be.
