Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have three short questions. In regard to the European Defence Agency, is there a contradiction between Ireland's membership of this agency and our foreign policy, particularly in the context of the triple lock? Also, the Minister mentioned that all operations in which we are engaged are UN-mandated operations. Will that remain the case?

My second question concerns the broader issue of European Union arms spending on weapons. Many citizens of the Union have concerns regarding the huge amount of money spent on weapons while we have approximately 27 million young people unemployed in the Union. Will the Minister comment on this?

The Minister said that five member states were interested in the project led by Austria as the lead nation. Is that just five out of 27 that are interested in the project?