Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy, will take over as Chief of Staff in June, said the shortfall is in the midst of a difficult security environment across Europe.

Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy, who is the incoming Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, speaking at the PDFORRA conference this morning. Neville Coughlan

THE INCOMING CHIEF of the Irish Defence Forces has said that gaps in capability are causing significant “challenges” in the complex security environment not just in Ireland but across Europe.

Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy will take over as Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces in June when Lieutenant General Seán Clancy takes up the chair of the Brussels based EU Military Committee.

In his first address to delegates at the PDFORRA conference in Killarney Mulcahy said that soldiers, aircrew and naval sailors are filling gaps created by a shortfall in numbers.

“It is clear to all that we are in the midst of an increasingly challenging Defence and Security environment, both in our domestic maritime and aerial environment and on the wider European stage.

“In partnership with Department of Defence and the Representative Associations we are also dealing on a daily basis with a very wide range of complex challenges, such as the gaps in our organisation and lack of key personnel in the Naval Service, Air Corps and Army that continue to threaten our capabilities and our ability to respond to this new security environment.

“On a daily basis, these gaps require some of you and your members to take on extra responsibilities to ensure that we continue to provide all essential military responses. At Defence Forces Board level, we are working very hard, in a very challenging labour market to recruit new blood and especially to retain our excellent personnel,” he said.

Taskings

Mulcahy said that while those shortfalls in capability are present he said the Defence Forces were continuing to monitor the so-called Shadow Fleet which are Russian sanction runners transiting through Irish controlled waters off the west coast.

He also praised soldiers efforts locally in Kerry while searching for missing farmer Michael Gaine as well as drug interdiction operations such as the taking of the MV Matthew.

Mulcahy described the EU Battlegroup initiative as a key enabler and said it was a “portal of modernity”. More than 130 Irish troops are currently assigned to the EU military mission and he praised their work on recent exercises in Hungary.

He also mentioned the work of the Irish peacekeepers on UNIFIL duty in south Lebanon and said he was committed to working to bringing those who killed Private Seán Rooney to justice.

Mulcahy said that working with the representative bodies, PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers will be a critical focus for him as he takes up overall command.

“As I shortly assume the role of COS, I am confident that, with the assistance of all stakeholders, we can deliver the Defence Forces that the Irish people need.

“The key reasons for my optimism are the excellent people within our organisation and the positive determined culture in which they operate,” he added.

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Brig General Rossa Mulcahy addressing the PDFORRA conference this morning. Neville Coughlan

Key focus

Mulcahy said that a key focus must be on keeping personnel in the Defence Forces and that part of his approach will be “working hard to improve our culture”.

“This is, and will remain, a priority for our organisation. The Defence Forces have evolved greatly in recent years in response to challenges both internal and external.

“The Gleeson Commission, 1988, FEMPI Measures, 2012 Reorg, the CODF and the IRG, in their time has demanded significant, often painful change. In response the Defence Forces has evolved and improved. It will continue to do so.

“Learning from the issues, highlighted in the IRG report, and all the other challenges we face, I think that we should be very hopeful for the future. I believe that the Defence Forces faces a bright future,” he added.

The General said that the Defence Forces is “working hard” to increase equipment capability with purchases of modern kit which he believes will mean “a better working environment for all of our personnel”.

“There is a firm commitment for a 50% increase in Defence spending, and on reversing previous personnel cuts so that we go back up to 11,500 PDF and reinvigorate the Reserve.

“The reversal in the decline in recruitment is testament to this, a positive note achieved with the hard work of your members.The Detailed Implementation Plan is very ambitious.

“The necessary funding is being put in place and we’re already seeing the results of that funding – our capital allocation is going up significantly year on year. You’ll see the proof in the multiple equipment programmes that are ongoing across the Army, Air Corps and Navy,” he added.

Mulcahy has experience in a variety of roles across the Defence Forces, as well as deployments with the United Nations and NATO.

His overseas experience includes three deployments to Lebanon with UNIFIL, two years on deployment to Syria and Lebanon with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), and deployment as Irish National Senior at NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.

He took up his appointment as Assistant Chief of Staff in October 2021. He also previously served as Director of Communications and Information Services, with cyber systems being one of his areas of responsibility.

Brigadier General Mulcahy has served in all of the Communications and Information Services Units within the Army.

Journal.ie - Incoming military Chief: Gaps in Irish Defence capability causing 'complex challenges - 14 May 25

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