Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for her question. I know she has raised this matter on a number of occasions before. I too take this risk incredibly seriously. I will speak to officials in the Department in detail in this regard.

The Department of Defence currently only facilitates Irish SMEs during their initial interaction with initiatives such as the European Defence Fund. This interaction is primarily administrative in nature, assisting entities to navigate the bureaucratic requirements associated with the collaborative EU programmes. My officials will continue to engage with current and potential exporters regarding their responsibilities under export control including via a webinar being hosted this morning to raise awareness among relevant stakeholders of their responsibilities under export control legislation. The bulk of dual-use producers from Ireland are, as I have said, mainstream businesses producing ICT products and so on. Their applications are assessed individually. The Department of Defence currently only facilitates Irish SMEs during their initial interaction with initiatives such as the European Defence Fund.

As I said at the outset, I take these risks incredibly seriously. I am keeping a very close eye on this and I am working collaboratively with the Minister for Defence on the issue.

See this speech in context