Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I thank the Tánaiste for a very comprehensive report. I found it very down to earth. It covered many areas that it is time we covered in the open.

I ask the Tánaiste to ask his Department to draft a briefing document for Members of the Oireachtas which explains exactly what neutrality is. Quite frankly, I am tired of being overseas and hearing people talk about Paddy neutrality, being militarily non-aligned and using two polar opposites in the same paragraph and sentence. There is clearly a lack of understanding of what neutrality means. There should be a briefing document for all of us so that we know exactly what we mean when we say that Ireland is a neutral country. I compliment the Tánaiste on what he has said today regarding NATO. Listening to my colleagues here, it is clear that we cannot survive on our own anymore. The world we live in is a changed one. We must have friendly alliances with those who are of similar thinking to ourselves.

In the past two years I have led a number of delegations to Estonia to visit various cybercentres. I have always found the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, CCDCOE, the NATO research centre, extremely welcoming and willing to share its information and research. When I was leading one particular delegation, I mentioned to a chap in the group that we were visiting the CCDCOE the following morning. He asked me what it was and I said it was the NATO research centre. He told me "No" and said that he was not going anywhere near NATO. I told him that that was fine and he could stay in the hotel and we could pick him up later. The following morning, he said he would go up and see what they were about anyway. When he came out, he asked why we do not deal more with them because of the information they can provide. He said we need to be able to get that information and work with it. The CCDCOE offered the last delegation I had out there a number of internships to Irish universities. We have an Irish military officer there in an observing capacity and we need to build that alliance more. I ask that we be more open about that. That is my first issue on NATO.

The Partnership for Peace programme has done wonders for the Defence Forces. The Tánaiste talked about the divergence among the military in Europe versus what one has in the United States. I believe that being involved in something like Permanent Structured Cooperation, PESCO, is a good thing because we can standardise what we have got and our training, and reach a level of expertise which is common across the European Union. That is a good thing.

The other issue which was mentioned recently was the possibility of a commissioner for defence in the European Union. Shock waves ran through Leinster House among people who thought this would involve - oh my God - a European army. What would be wrong with having a commissioner for defence at the very top of the European Union who would be able to co-ordinate what happens within the defence sector? I do not have a problem with that.

I want to ask the Tánaiste's opinion on another matter. I wrote, at a recent meeting in Bruges of foreign affairs and defence committees, about the establishment of an Atlantic fleet. The Tánaiste spoke about the undersea cables, the interconnectivity we have with the UK and the interconnectivity we will soon have with France. Is it not time, therefore, that the EU took control of the Atlantic? No single nation is capable of patrolling the Atlantic on its own. Our economic zone is so large that even if we had all nine ships at sea, I do not believe we could cover it. The establishment of an Atlantic fleet - the Tánaiste may give me an answer or opinion on it - is something that we should be discussing at European level with a view to securing the assets of Europe. That is what I am talking about. I am not talking about the establishment of any military initiative other than the possibility that a French, German or British ship could be patrolling in our economic zone. If they come across something which appears to be illegal, they could carry out an arrest and take the offending vessel to the nearest port. I am merely talking about co-operation to defend our assets and nothing else. I would be interested to hear the Tánaiste's view on that.

The other issue I have a difficulty with - I am still in the foreign affairs space here - is our overseas development aid. I want to put this as simply as I can: if I decide tomorrow morning that I will fund your car, pay your car insurance and look after everything to do with your car, the money you would ordinarily have to spend on your car can now be spent having flash dinners up in the Shelbourne Hotel. With our overseas development aid, over the period from 2013 to 2022, we funded ten countries to the tune of €2.236 billion. When I look at the military establishment of those countries, the fighter aircraft and the tanks they have in their hundreds, and at the size of their military, clearly if we are funding their education, health or welfare system with overseas development aid, they are able to divert funds into things we should actually be diverting funds into. I am not saying what we are doing is wrong here. I believe that overseas development aid is a crucial part of our foreign policy. I am asking if it is time we reviewed where we are putting our money and had a look to see if we are perhaps putting money into some countries that do not need it and could manage their own systems better without our money. Perhaps we should divert what overseas development aid we have into poorer countries which could use it.

That is where I am at. I ask if the Tánaiste might deal with those foreign affairs issues. I have some defence questions also. Does the Tánaiste wish me to hold those and to allow him to deal with the-----