I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 to 68, inclusive, together.
The White Paper on Defence sets out the Government's intention to put in place a fixed cycle of defence reviews. These are common internationally and give assurance that policy remains up to date and relevant to changing future circumstances. The White Paper provides that these reviews are to have a three yearly cycle, with every second review being more comprehensive in nature and styled a Strategic Defence Review. The White Paper specified that the first in this new cycle of reviews would be a White Paper Update, which is well underway and close to completion.
The current White Paper Update is being overseen by a high-level civil-military Steering Group that meets regularly to review progress and the overall approach. Since September last year when the Group first met, it has met on a further five occasions to date. The Steering Group is chaired at Assistant Secretary level in my Department and membership also comprises the Defence Forces' Assistant Chief of Staff and the heads of my Department's Planning & Organisation Branch and the Defence Forces' Strategic Planning Branch. Minutes of all meetings of the Group are taken by an Assistant Principal from my Department. Minutes are not being published while the Update process continues.
The White Paper also provides that consideration will be given to whether future reviews will be placed on a statutory footing. The necessity to legislate, or otherwise, is one of a number of issues upon which I am currently deliberating, in the context of the requirement to establish these reviews as a permanent feature of our approach to defence policy. Another relevant aspect of my current deliberations is the question of the extent of consultation that should be carried out as part of such future reviews. In seeking to establish these reviews on a consensual basis, I decided to seek the input of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence, and I wrote to the Committee in August 2018 to obtain their views. In response, the Committee met with me recently to convey their views thus concluding this element of the process.