Crime & LawAnalysis

After 100 years, the Defence Forces will finally be allowed manage its own affairs

Unlike many other countries, the Chief of Staff is entirely bypassed under the Irish military’s command and control structure

Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, with Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin. Photograph: Alan Betson
Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, with Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin. Photograph: Alan Betson
Conor Gallagher's picture
Conor Gallagher
Sat Jul 06 2024 - 06:00

One of the many quirks of the Republic’s security apparatus is that the Defence Forces’ most senior officer is not actually in command of the Defence Forces.

If that sounds confusing, it’s because it is. Unlike many other countries, the Irish military’s Chief of Staff, a post currently held by Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, does not have command control over operational units.

Now, after 100 years, that’s about to change due to a complete overhaul of the military’s command and control structure.

To be clear, Lieut Gen Clancy is not a figurehead as things stand. He is in charge of the Defence Forces’ headquarters and its various directorates and, along with the secretary general of the Department of Defence, is the chief military adviser to Government.

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But he lacks any authority to order, for example, troops to take up positions in the field or a ship to go on patrol.

Instead those orders must come directly from the Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, through the civil servants under him. The chain of command extends from the Minister to the senior officers commanding individual formations, entirely bypassing the Chief of Staff and his deputies in headquarters.

This situation has understandably created confusion and frustration over the years.

“We’re talking about a situation where if I wanted to send a military vehicle to a local fair, I would have to get sign-off from someone in the department,” one former senior officer told this newspaper several years ago.

One senior Naval officer told a Workplace Climate Survey in 2017 that if he wants to dock his ship in port “we have to get permission from Naval operations who have to get permission from the Department of Defence – for reasons unknown to us!”.

Captains were now almost afraid to make decisions at sea, he said.

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This odd command structure can be traced back to the time of the Defence Forces’ founding a century ago. Fresh from the Civil War, the Free State government was constantly worried about a potential coup by National Army officers who were angry over large scale demobilisations.

The Army Mutiny of 1924 confirmed these fears when a group of officers issued the government with an ultimatum to end demobilisation. The episode ended with the detention of the mutineers, the forced resignation of the Army’s general staff and a determination within government that civilian control of the military would never again be questioned.

The latter was done through various legislative tools, most notably the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, which stripped power away from the general staff.

This relationship was cemented by the Defence Act of 1954 and has remained largely unchanged since, despite the protestations of various Chiefs of Staff who have bridled at having to justify military decisions to civil servants.

In its seismic 2022 report, the Commission on the Defence Forces identified the command structure as one of the main problems with Irish defence and recommended a complete overhaul.

“This unusual, and potentially confusing structure diverges from what is considered best practice internationally and underlines the need to modernise the current system,” it said.

Now its recommendations are being acted upon. This week Martin received approval from Cabinet to begin fundamentally restructuring the command of the Defence Forces.

Under the restructuring plan, military control will still flow from Government, through the Minister for Defence. But crucially, the chain of command will now include the Chief of Staff, whose new powers will be reflected in a new title, Chief of Defence, or Chod for short.

The three branches of the Defence Forces will also be placed on an equal footing. Until now, the Naval Service and the Air Corps had the status of mere “formations”, reflecting their original establishment as offshoots of the Army.

Now, the Irish Navy and Irish Air Force, as they are to be renamed, will enjoy the same status as the Army. Not only will this improve morale, it should lead to less siloed decision making and a more responsive Defence Force.