Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 2 July 2024

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion

3:15 pm

Photo of Réada CroninRéada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I want to state again our objections to the process by means of which the Tánaiste is doing this. The committee indicated to him last July that we would like more engagement and that we might have the opportunity to bring experts in, talk to them about it and have a back-and-forth, not just a 55-minute debate in the Dáil. I will start with that.

On the PESCO project network relating to logistic hubs in Europe and support in operations, how do the Defence Forces currently deploy logistically, as opposed to what participation in the project allows for? I am talking about the sheer scale of it, and Ireland being an island off the coast Europe. With regard to the existing transport and storage facilities available under the project, can the Tánaiste outline what is in place? Does he envisage that there is going to be any possibility that under this project, Ireland could opt to, or be obliged to in another case, host any of these transport and storage facilities?