David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Brady has asked a lot of the questions I wanted to ask. I congratulate the Minister and both Departments on the work they are doing. The presentation was short but the Minister packed a lot into it, not only on the amount of work but also on its quality and the impact Ireland is having in its role on the Security Council. I congratulate the Minister and his officials and our ambassadors on that work. It is amazing that a small country like ours is having such an impact in many areas. We continue to do so, and I wish those involved well into the future.

I wish to ask the Minister a few questions. He mentioned North Macedonia and Albania and the accession negotiations. He might tell us how he sees that progressing and how soon we might see progress on that and what kind of progress it might be. That is quite important. I agree with the Minister on that.

I wish to focus a little on the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces that the Minister outlined. Some very interesting points were raised, and I know we will probably come back to the matter again, but how soon does the Minister see some of those actions occurring? In the next six to 12 months, for instance, what does he see occurring in respect of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the decisions taken today by the Government? What exactly does he see happening in that regard? I agree with my colleague, Deputy Brady, that it is imperative we work on the retention and recruitment issues because we need good people in the Defence Forces. That is hugely important.

There are a few interesting things in the presentation like the capability branch - the Minister might spell out what that is about - and the office of reserve affairs, which is also new, from what I can see. The Minister talked about moving up to level of ambition 2 quite soon. He might explain what that is about. The spending, which, of course, is crucial, is to go to €8 billion by 2028. That is an enormous amount of money, but without it I do not think we will see progress. Again, the Minister might outline his ambition in that regard for the next 12 months. He is talking about 2,000 more personnel, bringing the number up to over 11,500, I think. The Minister might give us an idea of his plans for the Reserve and the numbers in that regard. We will come back to that at a later stage.

My colleague, Deputy Brady, mentioned food security. I wish to bring up the issue of energy security. I am particularly interested in it. With the closure of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany yesterday, the Minister might say what impact that might have on Europe, including Ireland, and what contingencies there are in the event of gas becoming in short supply. What contingencies do we in Ireland have in that regard? If, for instance, the market pipeline comes under pressure for whatever reason, do we have contingencies in place to replace that supply? I have been asking that the Kinsale Head pipeline not be decommissioned. It is about to be decommissioned and it should not be. I am not talking about extra gas; I am talking about replacing any gas coming from Scotland that we might lose. I am fully in support of the green agenda in respect of green hydrogen, solar, wind and so forth. It is hugely important we drive that on as quickly as possible. This has to do with our security as a nation. If we do not have power and if we do not have energy, we are in serious trouble. I would like to hear the Minister address that.