The National Consultative Forum on International Security Policy broadly agreed that greater investment in the Defence forces and in defending against cyberwarfare was needed.
In the report published today, the forum broadly agreed that there is pride in Ireland's global reputation in international affairs, but there was disagreement surrounding the definition of the term neutrality.
Four meetings were held in Cork, Galway, and Dublin in June, with panel discussions on a wide range of topics and over 800 submissions from the public.
Chair of the Forum, Louise Richardson DBE said other areas of agreement were the need for reform of the United Nations and the absence of a popular mandate to drop the current policy of neutrality.
Ms Richardson said there were five contested areas, including NATO, with "contrasting views expressed on whether it is, as most European political parties see it, a defensive alliance or, as some participants argued, an expansionist aggressor".
Other issues included the Triple Lock, which means that a mandate from the United Nations, a Government decision, and a Dáil vote is required to send more than 12 troops overseas.
Many argued for the Triple Lock to be changed, believing it to be "an unwarranted abdication of sovereignty to cede to external parties' authority to decide on the deployment of Irish troops".
The report outlined an agreement of the need for greater public expenditure on all three branches of the Defence Forces, as well as on critical maritime infrastructure and defence against new threats such as cyberwarfare.
Ms Richardson said it was evident from the discussions that there was no agreed definition of the term neutrality, saying, "it clearly means different things to different people".
She said looking at the position of other neutral countries in Europe, Ireland is clearly an outlier, saying Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland all invest heavily in their defence forces; they have conscription and very large reserves to supplement their significant standing forces.
"Ireland is not, and never had been, in a position to defend its neutrality, unlike other neutral European countries."
"Neutrality without the means to defend it necessarily entails relying on the goodwill or enlightened self-interest of others."
"This is not an optimal position for any sovereign state," she said.
There was widespread support amongst those who participated for increased expenditure on defence.
