John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a real danger that in the midst of a discussion on the perceived benefits of the MARSUR programme for the Defence Forces, the larger principle of Irish unity is lost as the Government seeks to normalise the country's participation in the EDA, something to which Sinn Féin is fundamentally opposed. The Minister briefly touched on the concerns around a European army. I would be interested in hearing more from him regarding that. There is a real danger, in particular given the departure of Britain from the EU, that the discourse on an EU army will be reignited once again.

Ireland had the option of opting out of the EDA. It seeks to develop the military capacity of European states to allow said states to function as a body in the furtherance of EU aims. We are still a neutral country. This further dependency on the EDA calls that into question in a serious way. A previous Minister explained Denmark was constitutionally prevented from participating in the EDA following its original rejection of the Maastricht treaty. How does it function in the area of naval surveillance in the absence of its membership of the EDA and, consequently, MARSUR?

I would like to put a couple of other questions to the Minister. I have a broad question on the EDA. How much does Ireland contribute to it annually? What other projects are involved? The Minister outlined a number of projects we are involved in and are operating. Has Ireland opted out of any programmes to date? I ask the Minister to elaborate on that a little bit further.

Does MARSUR permit access by military vessels from other countries involved in the EDA to Irish waters? To what degree is that permitted?

Deputy Gannon alluded to a major concern that I share, namely, the capacity of the Irish Navy. We know a number of our vessels are still tied up and there are major issues in terms of the recruitment and retention of naval personnel. How does all of that fit into the dependency on the EDA and the MARSUR programme? It is a major concern.

A major concern I have is that we would be so interlinked with the EDA, it will become virtually impossible not to say "Yes" to an EU army.

I fundamentally believe it is a long-term aspiration of the EU to develop an EU army. When we are so tied in and dependent in terms of all of our training, surveillance and all of that, it will become impossible further down the road to say "No" to that. Those are some specific questions on that issue.

On a broader issue, I take this opportunity to ask the Minister, as this is his first time to appear before the committee since the appointment of Deputy Jack Chambers as the Minister of State with responsibility for defence, which surprised many people, myself included, as it was one that went below the radar, what is the Minister of State's specific role with regard to defence? What responsibilities does he have? It has been said he has no responsibilities whatsoever. On the other hand, I note he has met representative organisations of the Defence Forces and been briefed by a number of those organisations. Will the Minister outline who has responsibility for defence and what responsibilities the Minister of State has?