Martin Heydon
Question:52. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of plans for a peace and leadership institute on the Curragh; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10315/18]
View answerWednesday, 21 March 2018
Questions (52)
Written answers
As the Deputy will already be aware, the White Paper on Defence includes a commitment to evaluate the potential development of a new Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training at the Defence Forces Training Centre in the Curragh. The current Programme for a Partnership Government also includes a commitment to develop this Institute. It is foreseen that the new Institute will have international standing and contribute to the overall development of knowledge and experience in the areas of peace support, leadership and conflict resolution.
As I indicated in my response to your previous PQ 44032/17 on 17 October 2017, scoping work was carried out on the proposal throughout 2016. A concept paper was developed and some initial consultation with national and international third level and research institutes and potential philanthropic contributors took place.
Arising from this initial scoping work, it was decided to conduct a formal feasibility study. Following a tendering process, a contract was awarded to third party consultants to complete this study. Work on the study commenced in January 2018 and it is anticipated that it will take 7 months to complete. The study will inform next steps and I look forward to reviewing the report in due course.
Question No. 53 answered with Question No. 39.