Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

The General Affairs and External Relations Council, which is also part of this process, approved the final requirements catalogue for the battle groups. Is the Minister of State aware this was validated using computer assisted operational analysis provided by NATO? Does he agree that interoperability with NATO principles underpins the entire capabilities improvement programme and that such interoperability compromises the State's neutrality? It was strange that in the Department's report on the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting it did not mention this whereas the British report on the same issue stated the information was provided by NATO. Is there something to hide?

What peace functions does the Minister envisage will be provided by the equipment and weapons included in the capability improvement charts? These refer to attack helicopter battalions, field artillery battalions, cruise missiles and precision guided munitions. Can the requirements catalogue be forwarded to the defence spokespersons, as previously requested? I thought the Minister had agreed to do this.

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