'The traitor in the Dail should be named shamed, charged and prosecuted'

A TD taking a few Moscow roubles to do Vladimir Putin's dirty work in Dublin - surely that couldn't happen? Well it is happening.

It really winds me up and makes my blood boil the way we run this country at times.

For years I have been banging on it about security threats to this State and the Government's repeated failure to take them seriously. Now we hear over the weekend that Russian spies have been operating here but worse still one of them is an elected member of our parliament.

A TD taking a few Moscow roubles to do Vladimir Putin's dirty work in Dublin - surely that couldn't happen? Well it is and the Gardai are aware of it along with the Taoiseach Simon Harris and all the powers that be.

READ MORE: Ireland weather: Severe 17 degree drop in temperatures as Ireland set to avoid Hurricane Kirk

READ MORE: Amazon’s brand new tablet is half price already but you need to act fast

The truth is the revelation doesn't surprise me one bit. And you will find the TD is only the tip of the iceberg that the Russians have a well integrated proper spy ring here across all sections of society from business to the media.

I have no idea who the traitor in the Dail is and I won't speculate but he or she should be named and shamed , charged and prosecuted.

There is a reason why the Russians have one of their biggest embassies in Europe here in Dublin because their diplomats are busy little bees manufacturing plenty of espionage honey. We Irish and especially our politicians might not see ourselves as important but we are.

Dublin is the tech capital of Europe and that is why both the Russians and Chinese have so many spies here because they want to nick American tech secrets. Most of the worldwide internet cables also pass through Ireland under our seas and across our land and from a military point of view they have massive strategic importance.

But then we as a country spent peanuts protecting these underground cables and depended on our EU and NATO friends to help us protect them. Across the capitals of Europe the security and defence of Ireland is seen as an absolute joke.

We spend peanuts on our armed forces and it shows. Things are that bad we can't recruit new members because we simply don't pay them well enough. The treatment of women in our forces has also been a disgrace for years with sexual exploitation and harassment brushed under the carpet and covered up.

We have no primary radar to protect our skies and no sonar radar to protect our seas. I am of the view that the way our Department of Defence is run is not fit for purpose and that there are far too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

They have spent the last two years making a song and dance about buying a new 300 million radar system when it should have been purchased within months.

We don't have a proper intelligence service which can track and observe what the diplomats of other states like Russia are doing in our country. Our intelligence services flips between the Gardai and the Army and information is lost between the two.

Far too many of our elected Dail representatives have no interest in national security and pay lip service to it. Some would regard it as hilarious a Russian spy running around Leinster House reporting back to Moscow.

These same people would rather spend money on tiddlywinks than give our military the proper budget they need so they can protect us from the enemy abroad and within.

Many TDs and Senators think because Ireland is neutral that foreign superpowers such as Russia and China have no interest in what we do and they couldn't be more wrong.

Only a handful of TDs take defence seriously, Brendan Howlin, Matt Carthy, Bernard Durkan , Catherine Murphy and Cathal Berry. Each and everyone of them in fairness have had the public's back.

The fact that Russia spies in Ireland should come as the Taoiseach Simon Harris said as no surprise to anyone. This is what Putin's representatives do everywhere.

The Russians have been taking a keen interest in Ireland in recent years from increasing the numbers in their diplomatic mission here to their Navy playing war games in Irish waters.

They have also taken a keen interest in our 18 or so underwater cables in the Atlantic Ocean and where exactly they come ashore. They have also been eyeing up our gas pipelines to the United Kingdom.

The Government talks about transforming our defence forces with increased investment over the next couple of years. The truth is it is happening far too slow. The changes and investment are occurring at a snail's pace.

The pace of change and the purchase of much needed new equipment needs to happen at 100 miles an hour because at the moment this country is a sitting duck from a national security point of view.

We do not have the radar, the ships, the fighter jets and missiles to defend ourselves. That in itself is a national disgrace. We have the money so we should be spending it on our defence.

A full investigation must now be launched into the Russian spy ring in Dublin and everyone involved caught and punished.

Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.