Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2022
339. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position of Ireland in relation to participation in NATO’s partnership for peace; the missions participated in by Ireland to date; if such missions require a UN mandate, approval by the Government and approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24113/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s relations with NATO are set within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and Partnership for Peace (PfP).
The Partnership for Peace is a programme of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO. It allows partners countries to build up an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation. Ireland became a member of the Partnership for Peace and its political counterpart, the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council, in December 1999.
Over the last two decades, participation in the PfP has been of significant importance in the development of the peacekeeping capabilities of the Irish Defence Forces and their interoperability with other potential peacekeeping contributing nations. Participation in PfP is fundamental to Ireland being able to keep abreast of developments in areas such as training, humanitarian aspects of peacekeeping and interoperability. It enhances the ability of our peacekeepers to work alongside those of our partners. It also enables us to share our own peacekeeping skills with a wide range of countries.
Furthermore, PfP also offers wider opportunities for cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity and efforts to tackle hybrid threats.
In addition to our engagement with NATO through PfP, Ireland has participated in a number of UN mandated NATO-led crisis management operations, including in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Currently there are 13 Defence Forces personnel deployed to the KFOR Headquarters mission in Kosovo.
Under the Defence (Amendment) Act, 2006 section 3(1)(b) and 3 (1)(d), the Defence Forces may, with the approval of Government, be dispatched outside the State for the purposes of conducting or participating in training or undertaking monitoring, observation or advisory duties. Any deployment of the Irish Defence Forces for overseas peace support requires that the operation is mandated by the UN; that the deployment is approved by the Government; and, in cases of deployments over a dozen personnel, that it is approved by the Dáil.
