Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Daly for her good wishes, which I appreciate.

The primary purpose of the procurement of defensive equipment by the Department of Defence is to maintain the capability of the Irish Defence Forces on overseas support operations and to afford the greatest possible force protection to Irish troops when on such missions. The need for such equipment is self-evident given recent events.

Tender competitions for defence equipment for the Defence Forces are conducted by the Department of Defence in accordance with EU procurement guidelines and with the EU code of conduct on export controls. Accordingly, competitions are open to any individual or country in accordance with the terms of all UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes or restrictions. There are no such restrictions or embargoes in place on Israeli companies. In following these guidelines and codes, the Department of Defence must deal impartially with all companies that are entitled to enter its procurement competitions and must evaluate tenders on the basis of objective criteria.

The principle of competitive tendering for Government contracts is used by the Department of Defence for the acquisition of defence equipment for the Defence Forces. Central to those procedures is the requirement to allow fair competition between suppliers through the submission of tenders following advertising of the tender competition, usually on the eTenders website, in line with the EU directive on the procurement of defence and security equipment.

A small number of Israeli companies have won orders for defence equipment in recent years as a result of tender competitions. This is not a new development. In each case, the contract was awarded by tender competition on the basis that the company concerned had submitted the most economically advantageous tender. To bar Israeli companies from entering tender competitions for the provision of military goods would be akin to Ireland's unilaterally placing an embargo on such goods from Israel, and this would raise serious implications for Irish foreign policy which are outside my remit. As the Deputy is aware, trade policy and market access are largely EU competencies and any restrictions or bans on imports from any particular country would have to be a concerted decision at EU level.

The Government has consistently been opposed to proposals for trade, diplomatic, cultural, academic, sporting or other boycotts of Israel. In the absence of a general trade embargo of Israel, the Department of Defence cannot unilaterally preclude Israeli companies from participating in tender competitions for military or any other type of goods.

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