Politico
March 27, 2022

Poll: More Irish want to join NATO in wake of Ukraine invasion

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Also see: Europe without neutrals: NATO lures Ireland into global military network

Europe under the NATO aegis: Alliance official visits Irish partners

Interoperability in the cyber domain: NATO completes exercise with “defenders from all NATO Allies, as well as partners Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland”

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Most citizens of Ireland want to boost military spending and nearly half want to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a new poll.

The findings by pollsters Red C, published in Sunday’s Business Post newspaper in Dublin, suggest sharply shifting public attitudes on Ireland’s official policy of neutrality.

It found that 48 percent now want to join NATO versus 39 percent opposed, a record high for this question. As recently as January, a similar poll found only 34 percent support for joining the transatlantic military alliance.

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Later this week Dáil Éireann, Ireland’s lower house of parliament, will debate a bill seeking to amend Ireland’s 85-year-old constitution to include neutrality. The bill is sponsored by five socialists in the 160-seat Dáil.

One of its authors, Richard Boyd Barrett, said many citizens are alarmed to see the Irish government “attempting to bring Ireland closer to the idea of an EU army and NATO.”