Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Daly wants to know whether Ireland has any plans to join NATO. I can assure her that there are no such plans. Ireland's co-operation with NATO will continue to be conducted through the Partnership for Peace process. There has been no change in the policy on Ireland's engagement with NATO or deploying troops to NATO-led missions which require that the mission be UN mandated and have the approval of the Dáil and Government.

The Government's 2015 review of foreign policy and the White Paper on Defence confirm that Ireland will continue to maintain a policy of military neutrality that is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements.

The only relationship we have with NATO is through Partnership for Peace, which was launched in January 1994 as a means of outreach to new democracies in central and eastern Europe and as a way to promote stability and strengthen relationships through the promotion of practical co-operation. Since Ireland joined Partnership for Peace, it has been joined by both states that wish to become NATO members and states that do not. Partnership for Peace includes the neutral or non-aligned states of Finland, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. Ireland became a member of Partnership for Peace and of its political counterpart, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, in December 1999.

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