Ireland cannot and should not fear being part of discussions on defence, Fine Gael leader and taoiseach-in-waiting Simon Harris has said.
In a speech on the future of Europe at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin on Monday night he said Ireland would remain a neutral country but that did not excuse any complacency on defence and security issues.
He said there were significant threats facing democracy in Europe and there were “powerful forces attempting to play on people’s fears, exploiting issues such as immigration for their own purposes”.
Politicians should be “willing to debate and engage with citizens on issues of concern, and when it comes to migration we need to have systems that are both fair and firm”, he said.
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Greater resources needed to be provided to the Defence Forces, he added.
He spoke of working in partnership with tech companies “to identify and neutralise foreign interference in democratic debates”.
“We need to find ways to shatter the walls of misinformation that are encircling us.”
Mr Harris said in the battle against misinformation, “education is our most potent weapon”.
“We need to develop critical media literacy programmes to empower our citizens to discern truth from falsehood, neutralising the impact of disinformation campaigns. The enemies of democracy are ambitious, so we need to match their ambition.”
The Fine Gael leader also said it was important “we protect the independence of our judiciary”, the integrity of electoral processes, and foster a vibrant civil society.
“Our Defence Forces have played a vital role not only in defending our country – but in spreading peace to other parts of the world. As our country matures and grows we will need to resource them to deal with modern challenges our country’s founders could have never imagined. Protecting our borders in an age of increased maritime and haulage smuggling, the threat of terrorism which now extends worldwide and responding on a national level to incidents that affect the entire nation as we saw a few short years ago.”
He said as powerful forces attempted to play on the fears of people and to exploit issues such as immigration, not enough had been done in the past to counter these issues.
“Unfortunately, we have not always done enough to combat these fears. We have not always communicated with our citizens about what we are doing and why it is the right thing to do. We need to listen to people and try to answer their concerns and alleviate their fears. We need to be better at communicating and defending our values. We also need to be willing to debate and engage with citizens on issues of concern, and when it comes to migration, we need to have systems that are both fair and firm.
“The enemies of democracy deploy misinformation to manipulate and confuse, all the time hiding their true intentions, which are to sow division and reap discord,” he added.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden has called Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to “recognise his years of service as a leader of Ireland” and “the good relationship they have developed”, the White House said.
The call came as Mr Varadkar prepares to step down as Taoiseach in two weeks’ time. Fine Gael leader Mr Harris is expected to be elected to the role by the Dáil on April 9th.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing on Monday: “Having recently celebrated St Patrick’s Day at the White House, the leaders reflected on their co-operation over the years on shared priorities, particularly deepening US-Ireland ties between our people and our economies.”
She said the pair “noted recent progress in Northern Ireland with the restoration of its Executive and Assembly reaffirming the critical role these institutions play in preserving the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement”.
Ms Jean-Pierre added: “The president conveyed that he looks forward to continuing to build a vibrant future for US-Irish relations with the new taoiseach once elected by the Irish parliament.”
A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said the Taoiseach thanked Mr Biden for his good wishes and wished Mr Biden “the best of luck in November”.
The Taoiseach also took the opportunity to brief the US President on the upcoming meeting of the North South Ministerial Council, which will take place on April 8th, which he said “will mark another important step forward in restoring the institutions under the Good Friday Agreement.”
Mr Harris met Mr Varadkar on Monday amid preparations for the upcoming transition of power.
Mr Harris was officially announced as Fine Gael leader at a party event in Athlone on Sunday.
A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said on Monday: “Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met Fine Gael leader Simon Harris this morning for well over an hour. The Taoiseach briefed the Fine Gael leader on upcoming national and international issues.”
Mr Harris is expected to meet the other Coalition leaders, Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan, in the coming days. He said at the weekend he wanted to establish a relationship of trust with the two men.
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