First Steps towards an Irish National Intelligence Agency: Establishing Legitimacy and TrustAzure Forum Strategic Insight 023/2024

Arguments for the establishment of an Irish national intelligence agency have been made through the Azure Forum and in the press. These have focused on the strategic need for intelligence but in order to address some of the very valid concerns about the creation of such an agency, they need to address the ‘how’ as well as the ‘why’. One of the first steps in the ‘how’ of establishing a national intelligence agency in Ireland is reconciling the tension between the liberal state and the existence of an agency that will be operating largely out of sight of the population and may even have to surveil that population. Liberal democracies do not have a good record when it comes to resolving this tension and in times of war or other crises, such as the threat of terrorism, history shows they can become very illiberal indeed. By making legitimacy and trust the cornerstones of intelligence, Ireland can go a long way towards mitigating the potential harm that could be done to civil society. Engaging with academic thought and research on these issues can provide some practical ways forward, especially if we look beyond the usual examples of the UK and United States. International organisations and other small states have faced issues of trust and legitimacy, and provide potentially useful solutions.