Ireland spends the least on defence of all 38 European countries in relation to their economic wealth, Irish Examiner reports.
Ireland spends less than other neutral countries such as Austria and Switzerland, neither of which have a navy or vast sea areas to control and protect, according to a new study.
The analysis follows statements by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the need to increase defence spending and a dramatic announcement by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that the US was reneging on its commitment to securing Europe and funding Ukraine’s defence.
The Global Military Balance 2025 study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies found that Ireland is at the bottom of a European table of 38 countries in terms of defence spending as a percentage of GDP.
The analysis shows:
- Ireland’s defence budget in 2024 (€1.29 billion) is 0.24% of the country’s GDP;
- The average among 38 European countries is 1.74%;
- Malta, also a neutral country, has the second highest expenditure at €90 million or 0.38 per cent;
- Austria’s defence budget in 2024 (€5.1 billion) is 0.99% of GDP;
- Switzerland will spend €6.24 billion on defence in 2024 or 0.69% of GDP.
The 530-page report said that defence spending in Europe will rise by almost 12% in real terms in 2024.
The report said this was driven both by countries’ reactions to the outbreak of military conflict in Ukraine – particularly in Scandinavian and former Eastern Bloc countries – and by NATO members’ commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence by 2024.
The report notes that Ireland’s defence spending ratio has fallen sharply since 2010, a time of austerity, from 1.24% of GDP to 1% in 2015, rising slowly thereafter before falling in 2021.
Following the publication of the Defence Forces Commission report in February 2022, the government adopted the second of three recommended investment options (LOA2).
The budget rose from €1.12bn in 2022 to €1.22bn in 2023 and €1.29bn in 2024. The budget for 2025 reached a record €1.35bn. The government has said it will reach €1.5bn by 2028. The Defence Force currently stands at 7,557, almost 4,000 short of the target of 11,500 by 2028.
