Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 July 2018
156. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the involvement of Ireland in the European defence industrial development programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29614/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe European Defence Fund (EDF) is a financial mechanism designed to enable and accelerate cooperation among Member States to better coordinate, supplement and amplify national investments in defence. Through the co-funded EDF, Member States will be able to achieve greater output and develop defence technology and equipment that may not be feasible on their own, by pooling national resources. The fund will also foster innovation and allow economies of scale, which will enhance the competitiveness of the EU defence industry. The Fund has two strands or windows, which are complementary; the Research Window and the Capability Window.
The European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) is known as the Capability Window. The programme aims to support the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the Union's defence industry for the period 2019-2020. In addition, the programme will act as an enabler for cooperation, incentivising potential collaborative development programmes.
Ireland’s position in the European Defence industrial Development Programme was developed through the Department of Defence led Interdepartmental Group made up of representatives from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Business, Enterprise and Innovation. National engagement with those Departments took place on the formulation of the text of the regulation to establish this programme, in order to ensure that the Programme reflected the interests of Ireland, particularly in the area of opportunities for SMEs. Ireland strongly welcomes proposals that a proportion of the overall budget is to be earmarked for projects involving cross-border participation of SMEs.
The text of the regulation was negotiated between Member States in the Friends of the Presidency format and following agreement between the Council and the Parliament the EDIDP will commence on 1 January 2019 for a duration of two years and receive funding of €500 million until end-2020. In the next Multi-annual Financial Framework the proposal from the Commission is to provide €8.9 billion in funding to a follow-on capability development programme.
