Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 March 2023
13. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the role the Defences Forces play in fulfilling the security needs of the Border region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14235/23]
View answerPrimary responsibility for the internal security of the State rests with the Minister for Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. Accordingly, responsibility for the security aspect of border control rests with An Garda Síochána, while the Revenue Commissioners also have responsibilities relating to their particular mandate.
Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of Aid to the Civil Power which, in practice, means to provide assistance and support to An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. The Defence Forces also provide support to the Revenue Commissioners, again, when requested to do so.
There is ongoing close liaison between An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces regarding security matters, and co-ordination and liaison meetings take place on a regular basis. However, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the detail of these security related meetings.
One of the early actions identified in the High Level Action Plan in response to the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces is the commencement of a Strategic Defence Review. This review is the second in the cycle of reviews as proposed in the White Paper on Defence and follows the 2019 White Paper Update. These cycles of reviews are to give assurance that defence policy remains up to date and relevant to the changing circumstances and bring certainty and regularity to defence planning.
As set out in the White Paper these reviews will be based on an updated security assessment and a fresh consideration of the implications of this assessment for policy requirements, associated tasks, capability development and resourcing. The first stage of this review will be a security environment analysis to be conducted by an interdepartmental working group which is due to commence shortly.
