Most of Irish people support joining NATO

The Irish people have no clear opinion on whether Ireland should join NATO or an EU army if such an army is created, although most people have said that they support military spending.

Currently, Ireland is not a NATO member and has a longstanding policy of military neutrality, according to Euractiv.

However, more discussions about whether this approach should be maintained after Russia's invasion of Ukraine are held.

The survey, conducted by the Irish BehaviourWise consulting firm as part of a survey to reveal attitudes towards defence policy, was mainly conducted before the government announced a record increase in defence spending last month. According to the results, 52 per cent support NATO membership, while 48 per cent are against it.

The researchers also tested the effect of presenting a military conflict narrative to people to determine their support for a certain policy. They revealed that under the influence of such narratives, public support for joining military alliances and increasing defence spending greatly increased, while the importance of neutrality decreased.

Taking into account an almost equal split of views on NATO membership, the authors of the survey concluded that this result highlights the potential persuasive impact that dominant narratives could have referendums on these issues in future.

Respondents also expressed greater concern when asked about the war and food security, showing great concern about rising food prices and potential food shortages, but expressed greater support for further admissions of refugees and an EU ban on Russian energy imports.

According to the survey, people do not fully understand the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy despite Ireland being involved in it.

As is known, Sweden and Finland together filed historical applications for NATO membership on May 18, three months after Russia's war against Ukraine. This step for Finland put an end to the process which lasted for many decades, while for Sweden - about 200 years of neutrality. In turn, Denmark, amid Russia's war against Ukraine, decided to join the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy.