The emeritus professor at the European University Institute, who is originally from Cahersiveen, says Ireland needs to take defence seriously.
Professor Emerita Brigid Laffan was reacting to last Friday's altercation between the US president and vice-president, and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
She says this clearly shows that the United States can no longer be trusted to act as the guarantor of European peace.
She believes that the Irish Defence Forces are extremely weak due to years of underfunding and that the priority must be to catch up and bring them up to standard.
Professor Emerita Brigid Laffan says the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence must be established immediately to allow for strategic planning before Ireland invests in weapons like fighter jets.
