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

I am not going to start judging other countries for what they choose to spend on defence.

Greece allocates a relatively high proportion of its expenditure to defence. That is a decision for the Greeks, just as we must make decisions on defence expenditure as part of the White Paper process.

My view is that we need to spend a little more on defence in order that we can increase our peacekeeping capacity and ensure we can replace and upgrade equipment to protect members of the Defence Forces when they are in action. Advocating an increase in defence expenditure does not mean I am somehow a warmonger; the opposite is the case. Our role is one of peacekeeping and, in some cases, peace enforcement.

Ireland has taken a position on the suggestion that a set target for defence expenditure, based on a percentage of gross domestic product or gross Government expenditure, should apply across the European Union. The Government has opposed this proposal because we do not believe governments should be tied to certain targets at European level. That is our position and Ireland will continue to make its own decisions on defence expenditure and where and when we participate in defence actions. This is what being militarily neutral is about.

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