IRELAND IS TO move forward with deploying its first defence attachés to embassies in the US, Britain and France, The Journal has learned.
Defence and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee is to bring the proposal to cabinet today for the establishment of the network.
The officers will be deployed to Washington DC, London and Paris – which have been identified as the best location to enhance defence links with countries that the Government has identified as Ireland’s most important strategic partners.
The new programme will begin on a pilot basis with the placement of key personnel in in Paris, London and Washington DC.
The attaché role is different from military liaisons, which already is in place in limited numbers in Brussels in EU military offices and at NATO headquarters. The new role is about building connections and relationships and focuses on defence and security cooperation, and diplomatic representation.
The programme is anticipated to be on a pilot basis and will be staffed by appointed Irish Defence Forces officers.
Ireland is unique for countries certainly in Europe which do not deploy military attachés to their embassies.
Ireland does have a network of liaison officers very successfully in the policing sphere with gardaí posted to foreign agencies such as Interpol and Europol. They attend events in host cities and build connections.
There are about 60 countries with defence attachés accredited to Ireland – but most are based in London.
The US and Britain operate full time representatives in Dublin with Colonel Sean Grant representing the British side and Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Patton for the Americans.
There has been a long campaign by defence advocates amid some reticence down through the years from some civilian officials. There were representations by diplomats dating back to the 1960s requesting the assistance of defence attachés.
The 2022 Commission on the Defence Forces outlined a compelling case for the deployment of the officers to embassies across the world.
Those recommendations were then adopted in the action plan which followed the report.
