Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
243. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will report on participation in PESCO projects of which the State is a project member; the cost associated to date; the benefits yielded; the number of Defence Forces personnel involved; if they are stationed within the State or abroad, by project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28482/23]
View answerIreland joined the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in 2017, the establishment of which represents a further development in EU Cooperation in support of international peace and security under CSDP. Under PESCO, Member States come together in different project groups to develop and make available additional capabilities and enablers for peacekeeping and crisis management operations. As of 12th June 2023, Ireland is participating in four PESCO projects and has Observer status on 19. The four projects in which we are participating are - (1) Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance; (2) Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform; (3) Maritime (semi) Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures and (4) Deployable Military Disaster Relief Capability Package.
(1) The main objective of Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance project is to enhance the maritime surveillance, situational awareness and potential response effectiveness of the EU, by using the existing infrastructure, deploying assets and developing related capabilities in the future. The project will integrate land based surveillance systems, maritime and air platforms in order to distribute real-time information to member states, so as to provide timely and effective response in the international waters. It aims to address new and old threats and challenges (such as energy security, environmental challenges, security and defence aspects); thus ensuring accurate Awareness and Rapid Response, so as to contribute to the protection of the EU and its citizens. As the State’s principal sea-going agency, the Naval Service provides a unique sea-going capability. The Naval Service is multi-tasked with providing a fishery protection service, general maritime patrolling and surveillance, and are ready to respond to, for example, an aid to the civil power request, a pollution incident, or a search and rescue or recovery missions. Participation in this project enables the Naval Service capability development in maritime surveillance and situation awareness, interaction with other Navies is also extremely valuable from a lessons learned and lessons identified perspective. The project is led by Greece and is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
(2) The main aim of the Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform project is to strengthen EU Member States’ cyber defence capabilities and response to cyber incidents by promoting cooperation in the field of cyber threat information sharing. Participation in this project will give the Defence Forces a further means to deal with both known and unknown Cyber threats. It will provide additional analysis capabilities regarding Defence Forces adversaries Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) and the Indicators of Compromise (IoCs). The adoption of this platform will also increase our interoperability with EU Member States both at home and overseas, which may save valuable time and resources when responding to an incident. The information sharing aspect will also aid in cementing our already established links with strategic partners and allow us to both contribute to and avail of a rich Cyber intelligence network. The project is led by Greece and is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
(3) The Maritime (semi) Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures project aims to deliver a high-level collaboration and delivery of semi-autonomous underwater, surface and aerial technologies and capabilities for maritime minecountermeaures. If successful, this will allow and enable EU Member States to protect shipping, harbours, critical offshore infrastructure and sea lines of communication, and to safeguard freedom of navigation on maritime trade routes in Europe and globally. The development of autonomous vehicles, using modern technology and an open architecture, adopting a modular set up, will contribute significantly to the EU's maritime security by helping counter the threat from sea-mines and other bad actors in the maritime domain. As participants, Ireland will benefit from access to R&D and industry in driving a solution to this capability gap through potential fit out (installation) on current platforms and planned C/IED and MCM platforms (ships) as part of the fleet replacement program. This capability, when developed and delivered, will provide Ireland with a flexible, modular, innovative technology which will enable the Defence Forces to develop an increased level of protection, resilience and deterrence to mitigate against potential threats to key national infrastructure (ports, approaches and Sea Lines of Communication) and critical national infrastructure (subsea cables, renewable offshore energy). The project is led by Belgium and is scheduled to be completed by 2030.
(4) The purpose of the Deployable Disaster Relief Capability Package project is to develop, within the PESCO framework, a tool to support the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) response efforts to natural and manmade disasters such as public calamities, natural disasters and pandemics, both within and outside EU territory. It aims to provide additional capabilities to those already available which are particular to the military component of member states. This will in turn enhance the capabilities and effectiveness of the overall response to emergencies. Ireland’s participation in this project will provide opportunities for interoperability training with other nations to learn and share experience and knowledge across the humanitarian response area. As a participant the Defence Forces may be required to provide trainers as required to instruct on Disaster Relief Courses at the Training Centre, there is also provision for Member States to host specialised courses in their own countries. Standardised training across all participating Member States and an exchange of knowledge and expertise in the specialised areas of disaster relief will be very beneficial. As well as establishing important contacts in the area of disaster relief, the knowledge, skills and expertise developed on these courses could then be disseminated throughout the Defence Forces, resulting in increased organisational capability. The project is led by Italy and is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
In addition to full membership of these project, Ireland also has observer status on a further19 projects.
There is generally one Defence Forces' expert attached to each PESCO project. Where a project spans a range of disciplines, more than one Defence Forces expert may be required. All Defence Forces' representatives on PESCO projects are serving personnel on island.
Since joining PESCO in 2017, the only costs of our engagement have been those associated with travel to and attendance at PESCO project planning meetings by Defence Forces' Subject Matter Experts. These costs would not be extractable from the overall Defence Forces expenditure on overseas travel that covers travel for training, attendance at conferences etc.
