An Cosantóir

20 | Developing Ireland's A NAVAL SERVICE PERSPECTIVE FROM FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING THE NAVAL SERVICE (FOCNS), COMMODORE MARK MELLETT DSM BY WESLEY BOURKE T he fundamental role of the Defence Forces is the delivery of defence services. Within the Navy we are responsible for the maritime aspect of this. However, while our primary role is maritime defence and security, the govern- ment's white paper on defence in 2000 designated the Naval Service as the state's principal sea-going agency, providing multiple services, not just in defence and upholding sovereignty and security, but delivering services to many other depart- ments, agencies and actors in the maritime domain. These include inter alia support to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Depart- ment of Transport, An Garda Síochána, the Department of the Environment, Department of Education, the Coast Guard, Customs and Revenue, and the Sea Fishery Protection Authority. As a naval man over the years I have been surprised at how sea-blind we can some- times be as a nation, especially considering the fact that we are an island steeped in maritime history; a history that is reflected in the exploits of people such as St Brendan the Navigator crossing the Atlantic 1,500 years ago, the Pirate Queen, Gráinne Ní Mháille, and the remarkable achievements of Commodore Barry, Admiral Brown and others. In the last century, however, we seemed to have lost our understanding of the importance of the seas around our country so much so that Ireland's maritime constituency was weak. In Article 6 of the Treaty that ended the War of Indepen- dence, competence for several strategic ports, as well as the burden of maritime and coastal defence, were left in the hands of British Royal Navy. From a national perspective the impact of this neglect of the sea in many ways became institution- An Cosantóir September 2011 alised in the governance arrangements of the time, the legacy of which continued for many decades right up to more recent years. This is surprising when one considers that today over 97% of our trade by volume travels by sea. The Naval Service evolved against this backdrop where maritime affairs were not at the core. I do sense however that things are changing and the establishment by government of the Assistant Secretaries Co-ordinating group on marine affairs is a very positive development bringing about integration and very constructive cross governmental changes in the approach to maritime affairs. Today with a relatively small fleet we patrol what is the largest sea-to-land ratio of any EU state in northwest Europe. We have expanded our portfolio over the last ten years and today's Naval Service boasts highly-trained, professional and versatile personnel. Our relationship with the rest of the Defence Forces is becoming more integrated and joint and we are continu- ously expanding our capabilities with the Army and Air Corps. We regularly support Defence Force personnel and missions overseas, and over the last decade we have also seen a steady increase in deploy- ments in support of diplomatic, trade and economic objectives. To date these deploy- ments have taken us to every continent except Australia. Our task for the future is to see how we can deliver on our commitments to government from within the available resource envelope. Sea-power encompasses all aspects of the maritime spectrum, from defence and security to maritime trade and natural resources. When planning for the future we have to take all of these aspects into consideration and we also have to look at potential threats that may affect us not next year but well beyond that – 20, 30 or even 40 years down the road. The new ships we build today may well be in service in 2050! In the current economic climate we really have to be as efficient and as innova- tive as possible in order to provide the best service to the state and the citizen. Therefore, the role of a post-modern Naval Service is not just taking a traditional, linear defence and security approach, but to be a versatile, multi-skilled organisa- tion, providing many services and, where possible, working to stimulate and gener- ate the national maritime economy, and helping it to grow. Amongst the enemies of the state we see the economic deficit as one that must be attacked. Globally, maritime threats have evolved over the last decade in relation to maritime terrorism, piracy, arms smuggling, and drugs trafficking. While some of these threats may not be as relevant to Ireland today as they were in the past, we must remember that we are part of a wider community and the island of Ireland sits in a geo-strategic centre of gravity position on the western approaches to Europe. Some threats, such as arms or drug consignments, may not be bound for our shores but are simply passing through waters under state jurisdiction. In such cases we have a responsibility to police our waters and ensure to the best of our ability that these illegal consignments don't get through our jurisdiction on their way to their destination. To counteract these threats we have to manage our resources effi-

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