Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1001. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence if future European Union permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, engagements will be decided by his Department or internally within the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39786/22]
View answerAny decision to join a project of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is taken in accordance with the terms of the Programme for Government, which provides that “Ireland’s participation in PESCO projects will be maintained on an ‘opt-in’ basis, with contributions being entirely voluntary. Any projects undertaken within PESCO will be approved by Cabinet and Dáil Éireann. The Government will not participate in projects that are incompatible with our policy of active military neutrality and non-membership of military alliances.”
Ireland is currently a participant in only one PESCO project, the lowest number of any participating Member State. Following the recent approval of the Government and Dáil Éireann and subject to the agreement of the existing participating Member States, Ireland will now join four additional projects, which will bring our rate of participation to a level similar to that of Finland and still below those of other militarily neutral countries like Austria and Cyprus.
These four projects relate to
(i) Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform;
(ii) Deployable Military Disaster Relief Capability package;
(iii) Special Operations Forces Medical Training Centre; and
(iv) Maritime (semi-) Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures
Participation in PESCO is a tool which can enhance the Defence Forces’ military capabilities for participation in UN-mandated peace support operations, enhance interoperability and ensure that our troops are provided with the latest and best equipment and training. As I informed the Dáil on 5 July, my proposal for Ireland to join these projects reflects the military advice provided to me, which will further enhance the Defence Forces’ capability to undertake the roles assigned to them by the Government, both at home and overseas.
