Ms Niamh Ní Bhriain:

It does not matter whether we sign up or not. By virtue of being an EU member state, we are in this. We do not even get a chance to opt in or opt out; we have to cover the cost if the other countries default. We have to contribute, as a net contributor, to the EU budget.

On the question of risk, I remember when we were in here looking at the Act in Support of Ammunition Production last year. A risk assessment was carried out but it involved the question of how we would ensure companies would not lose out, not the question of how the weapons would be used and who would be killed by them. It was a question of how we could ensure things would not be detrimental to the arms companies. There was actually a bailout clause included in the Act in Support of Ammunition Production. It was set up such that the risk was the Ukraine war ending, meaning the companies would not get the money. That is the logic. The risk is that a war ends. Surely we should all want wars to end. The logic is one of asking how we can make as much money as possible from this as quickly as possible. Even if you just note the timing, you will realise the €800 billion fund was announced precisely when Ukraine, Russia and the US were negotiating. We know now it was not a peace negotiation that led anywhere, but at the time we did not. The time the countries were coming together to begin a potential peace negotiation was exactly the moment the EU announced €800 billion for weapons. There is a financial risk but you have also to locate that in the broader context.