Rose Conway-Walsh presses Taoiseach on Zelensky drone incident
Rose Conway-Walsh challenged the Taoiseach over national security preparedness after five drones endeavouring to intercept the plane carrying President Zelensky, asking whether protocols were followed, why disabling equipment was absent, and why airlines were not warned. The Taoiseach said an incident occurred but the drones posed no threat to the aircraft, that an operational response was put in place, and that the Garda Special Detective Unit with input from the Defence Forces is investigating and that circumstances suggest a Russian-inspired hybrid campaign.
Parliamentary challenge
Rose Conway-Walsh raised the "very serious incident" of five drones endeavouring to intercept President Zelensky's plane and asked whether the C-70 form had been completed to ensure a coordinated Garda and Defence response. She questioned whether all protocols were followed, why the naval ship did not have drone-disabling equipment, and why airlines were not informed about drone activity.
Taoiseach's account of the incident
The Taoiseach stated that a small number of unidentified drones were observed in the vicinity of a naval service vessel on patrol off the coast of Dublin and that the drones were not a threat to President Zelensky's aircraft, which had landed and departed some time earlier. He emphasised that an operational response appropriate to the circumstances was put in place by the vessel commander and subsequently by police and military authorities working in close cooperation.
Operational and investigative detail
The Taoiseach said the Garda liaised with Ukrainian partners on security arrangements and confirmed that the Garda Special Detective Unit is carrying out an investigation with input from the Defence Forces. He described the incident as very concerning and noted that police and military authorities worked closely during and after the visit.
Calls for oversight and capability concerns
Rose Conway-Walsh pressed why the Defence and National Security Committee had not been allowed to exercise oversight of national security in this matter. The debate referenced Lieutenant General Ross McCahy's comment to John Maloney in the Sunday Times that the military needs more personnel, intelligence and high-tech capabilities to navigate uncertain times.
Security implications and wider context
The Taoiseach suggested the circumstances were indicative of an ongoing Russian-inspired hybrid campaign against European Union and Ukrainian interests, aligning the incident with similar events in other European states. The focus of the exchange remained on preparedness, capability gaps, and the ongoing internal investigation.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
The very serious incident of five drones endeavouring to intercept the plane carrying President Zelensky last week brought our Defence and National Security unpreparedness into sharp focus. Specifically, I want to ask you, was the C-70 form completed to ensure that Garda Defence's coordinated response was put in place? Were all protocols followed? Why did the Navy ship not have drone disabling equipment? Why were airlines not informed that there was drone activity in the vicinity that they were flying into? Lieutenant General Ross McCahy told John Maloney in the Sunday Times that the military needs more personnel, intelligence and high-tech capabilities to navigate these uncertain times. Taoiseach, why are you so reluctant to allow the Defence and National Security Committee do what the title suggests and have oversight of national security? Thank you, Deputy. Deputy Padertobi. Deputy Padertobi. We agreed that on the drone issue and technology, that disabling technology, that is important. The visit was very effective in terms of President Zelensky from a security perspective and I want to make clear to everybody an incident did occur on that night. A small number of unidentified drones were observed in the vicinity of a naval service vessel on patrol off the coast of Dublin. The drones were not a threat to President Zelensky's aircraft. That needs to be clear because it had safely landed quite some time prior to this incident and they were not a threat either to his departure. An operational response was put in place that was appropriate to the circumstances both by the commander of the naval vessel at the time and subsequently by the police and military authorities working in close cooperation and they work very closely together both in advance of the visit and so on like that. The Guardi liaises with their Ukrainian partners throughout the President's visit on the security arrangements including with regard to this incident. The Guardi Special Detective Unit is carrying out an investigation of the circumstances of the incident with input from the Defence Forces. It is a very concerning incident, as I said, like other similar incidents in other European states and the circumstances are suggestive of this being part of an ongoing Russian-inspired hybrid campaign against European Union and Ukrainian interests.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
