The former chief legal counsel for Guantanamo Bay’s detention camps leads the US agency the Irish Department of Defence has hired to advise Ireland on expanding the state’s military.

Legal counsel appointed by the attorney general approved an opposition bill banning the state investing in companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements – but government has blocked the legislation since 2023.

The attorney general told government that replacing the Occupied Territories Bill rather than amending it would be a "political choice" and not a legally necessary one.

Two flights carrying parts for the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) F-35 fighter jet flew through Irish territory on their way to Israel earlier this month.

A group that lobbies the Irish government on behalf of international arms manufacturers has acquired several new clients.