Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 April 2022
436. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence the projected initial cost and projected annual cost for the first five years of membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for Ireland. [17510/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland is not a member of NATO nor are there any plans for Ireland to join NATO. Accordingly, Ireland does not contribute to NATO common costs or common funding.
Ireland’s relationship with NATO is set within the framework of Partnership for Peace (PfP), which we have been a member of since 1999. Over the last two decades, Ireland’s participation in PfP has been of significant importance in the development of the peacekeeping capabilities of our Defence Forces and their interoperability with other potential peacekeeping contributing nations. This has allowed the Defence Forces to operate seamlessly alongside other countries on UN peacekeeping operations and other crisis management missions overseas.
There is no membership fee associated with PfP. The only costs relate to Defence Forces attendance at training and other activities that ensure that the Defence Forces can operate safely and effectively in crisis management operations and for some services, including secure comms and Role 2 medical facilities in KFOR. Costs in respect of office accommodation and services for the PfP Liaison Office in Brussels are discharged by the Department of Foreign Affairs with the Defence element being recouped from the Defence Vote.
