The Tánaiste and Foreign Secretary Michael Martin said Ireland was “scrutinizing” all new applications from Russian diplomats to come to Ireland amid concerns about espionage.
Mr Martin was responding to a recent report in the Irish Times that Ireland is refusing to issue new diplomatic visas to Russian officials to reduce the size of its Dublin embassy over spying concerns.
As a result, the number of diplomats and administrative staff at the vast Orwell Street embassy has been halved from 30, the highest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Immediately after the invasion, Ireland expelled four diplomats for their involvement in espionage. Since then, the government has sought to further reduce numbers by freezing visa applications for incoming staff, angering the Russian embassy, which complains of severe staffing shortages.
“As you know, as a government we have taken steps to significantly reduce our population. [in the embassy]The people who were specifically recommended were not actually diplomats, they were intelligence agents,” Martin said in an interview with The Irish Times on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“So the embassy has been significantly reduced. Thanks to the measures we have taken, I think we are down to 15 people now.”
The Tánaiste said Ireland was “scrutinizing” each new visa application from a Russian diplomat, and Russia was doing the same for Irish officials.
“So there’s been some twists and turns on these issues. There hasn’t been much movement in either direction since then.”
He said the government had no problem with Russian diplomacy, but that “if we receive reports from intelligence agencies that other activities are underway, we will take steps to prevent that from happening.” .
Mr Martin was attending the prestigious Security Council meeting with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the first time an Irish head of government has attended the meeting in its 60-year history.
Asked about embassies, Mr Varadkar said he believed “15 diplomats should be enough for an embassy”. [Russia’s] This is what you need. ”
On Saturday, the Taoiseach took part in a debate on neutrality with the leaders of Austria, Malta and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
He denied claims that Ireland is based in other countries for its defence, and that it relies on the British military for its security.
“We have our own navy, although it’s not as strong as we need, and we made an agreement with Pesco.” [the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation defence structure] And the NATO peace partnership surrounding the cables around the island is important to us and to our neighbors. ”
Mr Varadkar said security was about more than military spending. He said Ireland was one of the few countries whose international aid budget exceeded its defense budget.
This is done to enhance security, he said.
“Because if we can eliminate some of the root causes of the world’s conflicts, we will have a safer and better place. Then we will all be so well armed. You might not even need to do that.”
He said he found it difficult to envisage a scenario in which Ireland would abandon its neutrality, barring an invasion or terrorist attack by another country.
“Often what protects us is neutrality. We don’t have many enemies. We have many friends. That’s no coincidence.”
He said Ireland was willing to participate in the peace process between Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
“But let me be clear: if there is to be a peace process, we have to be guided by the president.” [Volodymyr] Zelensky and the Ukrainian government have talked about how and when that should happen. ”