Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this motion. I am very concerned about its proposal to significantly increase Ireland's participation in permanent structured co-operation projects. This motion is seeking approval from the House to increase Ireland’s participation in PESCO projects from one project to a further four military projects. I oppose this completely. PESCO is seen by many, including myself, as a precursor to an EU army. I take this opportunity to voice my absolute opposition to the establishment of any type of EU army.

When PESCO was formed, the joint notification on permanent structured co-operation from PESCO member states stated:

PESCO is a crucial step towards strengthening the common defence policy. It could be an element of a possible development towards a common defence [that is, a common European army] should the Council by unanimous vote decide so (as provided for in article 42.2 TEU). A long term vision of PESCO could be to arrive at a coherent full spectrum force package - in complementarity with NATO, which will continue to be the cornerstone of collective defence for its members.

Another statement on PESCO claims:

PESCO is both a permanent framework for closer cooperation and a structured process to gradually deepen defence cooperation within the Union framework. It will be a driver for integration in the field of defence.

That is what PESCO is ultimately about.

I believe we are going down a very dangerous path. We must do all we can to protect our long-standing policy of neutrality. Despite reassurances by the Government, it seems our neutrality is under serious threat at the moment. Recent Government behaviour only proves this. The Taoiseach’s presence at an EU-NATO meeting in Madrid last week was a very public attempt to erode Ireland’s military neutrality. This motion for increased participation in military operations is a clear indicator of this Government’s plans to abandon neutrality altogether.

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs has said the building of PESCO will be a big task and a big opportunity for the European defence industry. He said the strategy for the medium term is to expand the existing capabilities of EU countries and eliminate the gap between member countries in terms of both quality and quantity of defence systems. He referred specifically to air defence systems, drones, air refuelling capabilities, tanks, armoured vehicles, coastal protection and cyber capabilities. That shows what the intentions of the EU are for PESCO co-operation. While these individual items of PESCO might be minimal, it is about the overall Government policy and strategy. We are getting to the stage where we will wake up one morning and discover we are participating in everything. Then, people will wonder how we got here.

This, following the increased focus on an EU army across the Continent, suggests we are slowly being dragged into war. One day we are going to look back and wonder where it all began. It begins with these small steps, these seemingly insignificant motions. These are the moments future historians will look back on and study if we are not careful. We are a small, neutral nation. Our strengths have always been in peacekeeping and speaking out against injustice, not in military participation. This is something we should be incredibly proud of and something that is clearly reflected in the reports brought forward by the Minister for Defence via this motion. The 2021 report states that Ireland currently participates in six of the 12 peacekeeping missions operated by the UN and, according to the UN data, we are the sixth largest per capita troop-contributing country in the world, and the largest in Europe. This is where our focus and our resources should remain. This is where they are important and where they will make the most significant impact.

I welcome that the adoption of UNSCR 2594, spearheaded by Ireland, was the first UN Security Council resolution devoted to the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. The resolution focuses on the transition from UN peace missions to a UN civilian presence that supports peacebuilding in post-conflict environments, ensuring civilians stay protected throughout this process. Ireland has a unique insight into post-conflict environments, given our recent history. I am glad our knowledge and experience is being utilised at the highest level. Again, this is where our strengths lie and this is where our focus should be. PESCO is not about that.

Even more cynically, PESCO is being dressed up as a business opportunity. A report produced by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces on thee Common Security and Defence Policy stated, "there is dual opportunity arising whereby Defence can incorporate agile innovation into its capability development processes, whilst also supporting Irish research institutes and enterprise in accessing the new funding streams to deliver these capabilities". Another report advocates the establishment of a security and defence enterprise group, stating it would

[bring] together enterprise, industry, [academic] research and practitioners in the field of security and defence to identify areas of common endeavour and collaboration

[...]

to support Irish-based enterprise in their engagement with the EDA ...

It is okay if Irish business makes money out of the weapons and so on in the future. That seems to be where we are heading.

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