Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Defence when the White Paper on Defence will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11641/15]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister referred several times to the impending White Paper on Defence. It is two years since the Green Paper on Defence was produced and 18 months since the deadline for receipt of submissions elapsed. The Minister is running out of time to publish this important White Paper. Is he in a position to indicate a timeframe for its publication?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have been consistent on this issue since assuming the role of Minister for Defence. I indicated I would try to bring the White Paper to Government before the summer recess in July. That is the timetable to which we are operating. If the White Paper is approved by Government, as I hope it will be, we will probably be able to publish it in September or October. We are consulting on the White Paper and as part of the process of finalising it, I hope to arrange a full day of debate and statements in the Dáil. There will also be a full day of consultations with Defence Forces representative bodies and other stakeholders who will contribute to the finalisation of the process. I hope to be able to bring a White Paper to Government towards the end of July.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The timescale the Minister outlined is welcome if it can be realised. The Minister stated recently that he intends to consult on the White Paper nationally and internationally. With which categories of people or stakeholders will he consult? Will he also give an undertaking to use as a resource the large repository of skills and information that exists among retired officers? Those who retired recently have gathered a wide range of experience internationally, not least in the area of peacekeeping. Will he contact, liaise with and obtain feedback from this group?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We have a good group in the Department which has been liaising with many other Departments. The basis of a White Paper must be a comprehensive security assessment to identify that which we must defend against. We must then provide an infrastructure to ensure the State is adequately defended for the next ten years. That is essentially the approach taken in the White Paper. The Department has been moving from a Green Paper to a White Paper and has engaged in extensive consultation with other Departments, particularly on the security assessment.

I established a group outside the Department and Government to advise me on international best practice and put forward other views to ensure I am being challenged in terms of issues that should be considered. I have asked Mr. John Minihan, the former chairman of the Progressive Democrats Party, to chair the group. Mr. Minihan is a former officer who served abroad on many occasions, including in Lebanon, and is passionate about defence policy. The group also includes Mr. Karl Croke, a former Defence Forces officer who has been very successful in the private sector and has particular expertise in human resource management.

Marie Cross is also on the aforementioned group advising me. She has a lot of experience, has worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is now deeply involved in the Institute of International and European and Affairs, IIEA. In addition, Frank Lynch, who is the former flag officer of the Naval Service, is on that group. It is a group of four highly experienced people, three of whom are ex-Defence Forces personnel and all of whom are ambitious and interested in defence policy and the Defence Forces in Ireland. They are contributing to the development of the policy.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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We will come back to the Minister.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Finally, on the Department's consultation day, it will invite experts, be they from countries in Europe or elsewhere, where there is relevance to the Irish White Paper in respect of the work they have been doing. This will take place in approximately one month's time.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Budgetary constraints are the major impediment at present and I note defence spending has fallen by approximately 20% since 2008, bringing Ireland to the point where it has the second lowest expenditure on defence in Europe, in terms of percentage of GDP spent, behind Luxembourg. As part of this White Paper process, does the Minister envisage that this fundamental situation will change?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is hard to give a "Yes" or "No" answer to that question until the response to the security threat assessment has been finalised and fully costed. However, I envisage that yes, defence spending in Ireland over the next ten years will need to increase. New challenges must be faced, Ireland has a huge marine resource that must be protected, airspace that must be managed and it has natural resources that must also be part of that security threat assessment. Moreover, Members have already discussed cybersecurity and so on. In addition, Ireland has an increasing responsibility abroad in terms of peacekeeping, conflict management, post-conflict stabilisation and so on. I would like to see an increasing budget for defence to be able to do all those things. However, that must be negotiated and will not happen in a single year. My view on the White Paper is that over the next decade, the State will work towards putting in place a modern, well-resourced defence infrastructure which I believe will require increases in budget over time.