Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the engagement with the committee. It is positive that we are meeting rather often on these matters.

The Minister of State mentioned a high-level civil-military steering group. Who exactly are the members of that group?

The Minister of State also referred to whether legislative provision should be made for the conduct of fixed-cycle reviews. What kinds of changes does he envisage that would require such provision? I am putting this in the context of a report I have been quoting recently and on which the Minister of State's MEP colleagues engaged at EU level, namely, Ireland and the EU: Defending our Common European Home. It contains some alarming comments - for example, on redefining the concept of Irish neutrality, amending our triple-lock system and developing our defence industry. It does not sit easily that such comments are coming from some MEPs when we are committed to Ireland's neutrality here.

It was great that the Minister of State received so many submissions. Many came from civil society. I am wondering about further engagement because, with defence, it is civil society that is most effective when anything goes wrong.

There is an increase in military expenditure. Does the Minister of State envisage further increases? There are concerns in this regard. I asked the Minister of State before about the multi-role vessel that was possibly being purchased.

I thank the Minister of State for the letter he sent me following up on my question on training. He outlined in it some of the training that takes place. I acknowledge the great work our peacekeeping forces do when on UN-mandated missions. My question was on interrogation training. The Minister of State reverted to me on some of the other types of training. It is important to emphasise the importance of training on gender and refugee issues. We saw the so-called training for the Libyan coast guard was far from what it should have been. Our troops are much better trained. Given Irish troops' training on human rights and gender and refugee issues, could we more proactive in this regard? What happened in Libya and the Mediterranean was most unsatisfactory.

The Minister of State mentioned his role in planning for Brexit. I was in Belfield last week for the launch of our international development policy, A Better World. Was there engagement with the Minister of State's Department? How does he complement priorities in the new policy document with what we are seeing in the White Paper? Our role has been human rights based and humanitarian. Was there any engagement with the Department of Defence?