Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
137. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the locations around the country where military personnel from Ukraine have been trained by the Defence Forces; when the training took place; the number involved; the type of training provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12625/24]
View answerAll training provided by the Defence Forces to the Ukrainian Armed Forces via the EU's Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) has taken place overseas, on the territory of other EU Member States.
Separately, and not linked to EUMAM, as part of Ireland's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP), a NATO Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) Evaluator Training Course took place in Kilworth Training Camp in November 2023. OCC is an evaluation and feedback process that provides for external evaluation by trained evaluators of declared military capabilities in accordance with NATO standards. Ireland has participated in OCC since 2016.
A key component of OCC is the availability of Evaluators to assess units undergoing OCC. In order to ensure there is a pool of evaluators, OCC Evaluator Training Courses run in tandem with OCC Evaluations. In this case an Engineer Company was undergoing an OCC evaluation and a total of 22 students, from other countries completed the Evaluator Training Course in Kilworth Camp. Included in these students were four personnel from Ukraine. The provision of this training forms part of Ireland's engagement with NATO under Partnership for Peace and allows Irish personnel to benefit in terms of both the provision and receipt of training which strengthens the Defence Forces. It is also fundamental to Ireland being able to meet its obligations in providing professional peacekeepers for international crisis management and peacekeeping operations and in enhancing the Defence Forces’ interoperability with other professional military forces.
As the Deputy is aware, Ireland's relationship with NATO is conducted through Partnership for Peace, of which Ireland has been a member since 1999. The relationships between NATO and its partners are based on the principle of self-differentiation, allowing partners to determine the specific elements of cooperation and the closeness of the relationship.
