These mechanisms, however, remain largely untested in Irish circumstances and should not be assumed to substitute for national defence capability. Debate in Ireland has increasingly focused on outsourcing air and maritime functions, while land defence rarely features. Outsourcing works best, and only, when it is part of shared defence, not a replacement for sovereign capability. It requires a credible defence posture appropriate to its assessed risks. But outsourcing defence as a substitute for national capability carries immediate strategic costs.

Source: Irish Examiner January 20, 2026 01:18 UTC