Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The EDA was established by a joint action of the Council of the European Union in 2004 "to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve ... [the Union’s] defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”. On 6 July 2004, Government approved Ireland’s participation in the framework of the EDA. The primary reason for Ireland's participation in this member state-led and established body is to support the development of Defence Forces' capabilities for peacekeeping and international crisis management operations. Ireland’s participation in the agency provides access to research and information on developing and maintaining professional capabilities and research that we cannot self-generate.

Our participation in EDA projects and programmes is underpinned by legislation, namely, the Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which stipulates Government and Dáil approval is required for participation by Ireland in the ad hocprojects of the agency.

Importantly, it is completely voluntary as to what projects we wish to participate in. Ireland is currently involved in eight projects through the EDA: MARSUR III - maritime surveillance; the EU Satcom Market - joint procurement for satellite communications; ECMAN - a training project on manual neutralisation of IEDs; MSCB - military search capability building; joint procurement of ammunition; joint procurement of CBRN equipment; joint procurement of soldier equipment; and MICNET - the military computer emergency response team operational network.

The White Paper on Defence references that opportunities should continue to be identified to expand Ireland's participation in multinational capability development projects within the framework of the EDA, in support of the Defence Forces' operations capacity and capability. My Department and the Defence Forces are continually assessing the opportunities that exist in the EDA. Most recently, in July last year we joined four EDA projects, three of which were on joint procurement and one on cyber defence. Other projects that we have joined in the past cover capability areas such as counter improvised explosive devices, military search, and maritime surveillance.

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