Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach
Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals
2:00 am
Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
I wish to ask about the issue of safeguards. As part of this, what safeguards are in place to ensure we do not have a situation where Ireland, along with other EU member states, ends up underwriting loans that could be defaulted on to countries where there are significant and serious rule of law issues? What safeguards are there to prevent those countries from using these weapons in ways that would not enjoy any support from the Irish public? What safeguards are in place to ensure that, at a future stage, these weapons will not be used against the citizens of that country? What are the safeguards for Ireland in underwriting these loans, collectively with other member states, so that we do not end up in a situation where we have underwritten loans in which the weapons are used in those kinds of ways?
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