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A submission from an expert group to the government says it must bolster the Naval Service to protect the country's maritime security.

The submission, seen by the Irish Examiner, was made by the Irish Maritime Forum, an independent and non-political collegiate of professionals who have a wide range of experience across the maritime domain.

It was sent to the government as part of the public consultation on a new National Security Strategy which will lead how the State protects its national security and vital interests from current and emerging threats over the period 2020-2025.

The maritime forum members said the balance between the elements of the Defence Forces should reflect the fact that we are an island nation, with a sea area of control eight times our landmass.

To this end, the forum says the Naval Service should be upgraded to reflect international norms and its strengths and capabilities be enhanced.

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Published in Navy

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland and internationally for many years, with his work appearing in leading sailing publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a regular sailing columnist for four decades with national newspapers in Dublin, and has had several sailing books published in Ireland, the UK, and the US. An active sailor, he has owned a number of boats ranging from a Mirror dinghy to a Contessa 35 cruiser-racer, and has been directly involved in building and campaigning two offshore racers. His cruising experience ranges from Iceland to Spain as well as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and he has raced three times in both the Fastnet and Round Ireland Races, in addition to sailing on two round Ireland records. A member for ten years of the Council of the Irish Yachting Association (now the Irish Sailing Association), he has been writing for, and at times editing, Ireland's national sailing magazine since its earliest version more than forty years ago