Mispriced and Mismanaged: The Cost of Ignoring Financial Due Diligence in Defence

This report examines the dual crisis facing Ireland’s Defence Forces: a persistent exodus of elite personnel and the undervaluation of strategic military assets, both symptoms of systemic financial mismanagement. Using the recent case of Irish-trained soldiers working as private contractors for Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, and the below-market sale of naval vessels, the analysis reveals a troubling pattern of insufficient due diligence, weak oversight, and underinvestment. Without urgent reforms, anchored in professionalised financial governance, talent retention strategies, and strategic asset valuation, Ireland risks undermining its national security and credibility as a neutral actor serious about its strategic capabilities in an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape. Defence policy cannot be discounted, overlooked, or put to the wayside, financially, politically, or strategically.

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Mispriced and Mismanaged The Cost of Ignoring Financial Due Diligence in Defence.pdf

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