Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I will clarify the position on the legislation. Basically, the EDA is about developing the capability of EU member states to perform the Petersberg Tasks. Ireland has only engaged in one EDA project, the force protection project. It is about developing communications systems, body armour, sensors and so forth to protect our troops when they go into these dangerous environments. Ireland is a member of the EDA. Under the Lisbon treaty, there is no compulsion on this country to be a member but the Government has decided that membership of the EDA is a good thing for Ireland.

With regard to opting out or in, Ireland can opt out of or into any project in which the EDA engages. The EDA has engaged in a number of research projects and Ireland has opted into one, and made the appropriate contribution. This project is specifically geared towards force protection. Why is legislation required? It is required to make it absolutely clear to people who have doubts - and some doubts were expressed on this in the referendum campaign on the Lisbon treaty - that any project in which Ireland gets involved under the EDA will be simply and solely to advance the capability, capacity and safety of our troops when they are performing the Petersberg Tasks, which EU troops carry out under a United Nations mandate. The legislation will provide that the Government and the Dáil must be satisfied that the project is for that purpose. It will provide similarly with regard to joint structured co-operation.

The benefits of the EDA for Ireland are twofold. First, it allows for economies of scale. It will allow us to get much better value for the money we are spending on defence equipment by regularising the market. The market has been very fragmented and the EDA has done much to bring it together. Second, it has enabled Ireland to avail of the same information and research as our potential EU partners in peacekeeping. When Irish troops go into the arena as part of a UN-mandated EU mission, they will have communications equipment, tanks and general military equipment that are compatible with that of their partners. That is designed to make the operation more efficient and to ensure the safety of our troops.

See this speech in context