Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 December 2014
298. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Defence the number of official overseas trips that he has undertaken since he assumed office; if he will detail the venues visited; and the official overseas trips planned between now and December 2015. [46137/14]
View answerDuring each Presidency of the Council of the European Union, one formal and one informal meeting of Defence Ministers is held. Defence Ministers meet as the ‘Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ format’. These Council meetings are held in Brussels or Luxembourg at the invitation of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Since I was appointed as Minister for Defence on 11 July 2014, I have attended the informal meeting of Defence Ministers held during the Italian Presidency in Milan from 9 to 10 September. I also attended the Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers format in Brussels on 18 November.
In accordance with usual practice, an invitation was extended to the Taoiseach to attend a meeting which took place, in Wales, on 4 September between NATO Heads of State and Government and non-NATO countries that contribute to the UN mandated and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. I attended this meeting accompanied by a senior official from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
I also attended the meeting of 52 Defence Ministers, representing NATO members and partners. The main purpose of this meeting was to reaffirm the relationship with NATO and to discuss improvements to interoperability between NATO Member Countries and Partners.
I attended a US hosted summit on ‘Strengthening UN Peace Operations’ in New York from 25 to 26 September .
I intend to travel to the Middle East (Lebanon and Israel) between 4 and 7 December , with the primary purpose of visiting the Irish troops serving with UN missions in the region – UNIFIL, UNDOF and UNTSO.
In 2015, it is my intention to attend informal meetings of EU Defence Ministers in Riga, Latvia, scheduled for 18 and 19 February and in Luxembourg in July. Two Foreign Affairs Councils in Defence Ministers format are planned on 8 May and 17 November 2015. It is my intention to also attend these meetings.
