Ireland defence spending to grow to €1.5bn by 2028

The Irish Defence Forces have a current budget of €1.1bn (£931m)

Defence spending in the Republic of Ireland is set to increase to €1.5bn (£1.3bn) by 2028.

The bigger budget will see allowances for the lowest ranks increase by €89 (£75) per week or €5,000 (£4,227) per year.

The decision was ratified during a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday.

The announcement comes amid a debate about the state's military neutrality in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Minister for Defence Simon Coveney described it as the "biggest government decision on the Defence Forces in living memory... and one of the biggest things I have ever done in politics".

It follows weeks of talks between Minister Coveney and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath and their departments, RTÉ reports.

The Irish Defence Forces have a current budget of €1.1bn (£931m).

Mr Coveney brought the decision forward following recommendations from the Defence Commission Report, which argued for reaching that level of spending by 2030.

He said the government must make this investment to address capacity gaps in terms of core defence capacity in Ireland.

"The recommendation is about adding 2,000 more people to the permanent Defence Forces... but because we are 1,000 behind where we should be today, that effectively means adding an extra 3,000 people, that's around a 35% increase," Mr Coveney said.

'Ireland's safety'

The minister asked the government to prioritise money for military radar equipment, including primary radar with a potential cost of €200m (£169m).

An additional 2,000 personnel comprising both civil and military roles will also have to be recruited as part of the recommendation.

Mr Coveney told colleagues that every country in the European Union was looking at defence capacity and Ireland needs to do that too.

He said while Ireland was neutral that did not mean the country was safe.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a number of politicians called the stance of military neutrality into question.

Speaking in the weeks after the invasion, Neale Richmond, a Fine Gael TD (MP), has described the policy as "morally degenerate" - and called for a "long-overdue, serious and realistic conversation" about it.