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

Photo of Alice-Mary HigginsAlice-Mary Higgins (Independent)

I remind members who are participating remotely to use the raised hand feature and to cancel it when they have spoken. If a vote is called in the Dáil, as we believe it may be, the committee will continue with Senators and will suspend temporarily, if necessary.

Given that the vote in the Dáil is pending, I am going to take the opportunity, as a Senator, to begin the questioning. I will put my initial questions to the representatives of the Commission. I am conscious that, as we said earlier, their statement has been read into the record. I know they will be keen to get the opportunity to elaborate further.

Key concerns about these funds include the questions that have arisen at our previous hearings about where the money is going and what kinds of arms are being purchased. I will begin with a couple of questions in that regard. We will come to a further question about how the arms that are being purchased under this scheme are going to be used.

My next point will be relevant when I come back in later but, for now, I will address it to the representatives of the Commission. Are there any safeguards against the purchase of cluster munitions or antipersonnel mines through the loans secured under this new scheme or the moneys reallocated under the other COM we are considering? Lithuania withdrew from the Cluster Munitions Coalition convention in March 2025, followed by the Ottawa treaty on antipersonnel mines. Latvia has also withdrawn from the Ottawa treaty, as have Poland and Finland. Lithuania and Finland have now announced their intention to begin domestic production and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. I have quotes here. The Lithuanian deputy defence minister said, "We are going to spend hundreds of millions on anti-tank mines, but also on antipersonnel mines. It will be a significant amount."

The witnesses will be aware that Ireland has the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, which prohibits the Irish State from investing, either directly or indirectly, in the production, stockpiling or use of cluster munitions and antipersonnel mines. Will the witnesses from the Commission confirm if the moneys allocated to military spending under these two COMs can or will be used for antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions? What consideration has there been of Ireland's national legislation on this matter?

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