Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister. I thank him for the explanation because I was not aware of the reason for the Bill beforehand. Those of us in the Seanad believe ourselves somewhat snubbed because we are not required to declare war or for anything in that area.

The Bill confirms that Ireland can only participate in certain EDA programmes, projects or permanent structured co-operation subject to the prior approval of the Government and the Dáil, of which we were already aware. I refer to one or two matters which concern me in this regard because Senators Burke and Kieran Phelan have covered the areas referred to by the Minister in his contribution. At the end of September EU defence ministers met in Sweden, which held the EU Presidency at the time, to consider ways to connect national civilian and military radar and satellite systems to better deal with incidents at sea. Such incidents cover a range of areas. The defence ministers considered a data sharing model used by nations in the Baltic Sea, where some 500,000 ships transit every year. At the meeting it was stated that the greatest challenge would not be financial but legal. The legislation among the 27 European nations differs greatly on matters of maritime surveillance and the exchange of data.

We intend to make a large financial contribution to the European Defence Agency. Last year the contribution was €300,000. Ireland has participated in the EDA's joint investment programme on forced protection since 2007, to help boost Europe's efforts in defence research and technology. It has committed €700,000 to the budget. Should we insist on more help from Europe and from the EDA to patrol our coast? Mr. Javier Solana, the EU high representative for common foreign and security policy, made clear the requirement that all countries in the EU should spend more money on the European Defence Agency.

The Naval Service has only eight vessels. However, it faces the task of policing more than 340,000 sq km of coastal waters, a figure of which I was unaware before I researched the matter. That is four times the area of the island of Ireland, which is very interesting.

We have only two container scanners. Last week the Irish Cancer Society was in the Houses for a discussion on cigarette smuggling. I mentioned there was only one container scanner but I was informed by them there are now two because a new one arrived recently. It surprises me that we know how many scanners there are because smugglers would be interested to know as well. I would like to believe there are many more such scanners. However, to the best of my knowledge there are only two container scanners for the entire country.

It is estimated that cigarette smuggling alone costs the Government between €500 million and €700 million in lost revenue. It is growing at an incredible rate. Recently in the House I raised the matters of cigarette smuggling and counterfeit cigarettes. I seek a view from the Minister on how Ireland can get help to protect our coast. Obviously, we do not have the resources to do it on our own. Can we engage with the EU in some way such that we can properly protect our coastline? I refer not only to cigarette smuggling but to several very high profile cases of drug smuggling. The high profile cases are such that we praise the Defence Forces and the Coast Guard when they help in this area, but it is a reminder that this may be only the tip of the iceberg.

I refer to the extension of EU operations in such countries Somalia. At the two day summit of defence ministers at the end of September to which I referred earlier, it was stressed there should be more EU involvement in international operations. The defence ministers referred to increased EU involvement with Operation Althea, the EU led operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was widespread agreement that future military operations should focus on training the armed forces of countries. However, certain concerns were also raised at the same meeting. The EU is involved in fighting piracy off the coast of east Africa and there has been much publicity in recent times in this regard. The EU defence ministers stated they wished to engage in State-building, a term I had not heard previously, and development work in mainland Somalia. The flexibility of the battle groups was also discussed. In recent days EU defence ministers met in Brussels to discuss the various foreign and defence missions underway. They are expected to prolong Operation Atlanta, the naval operation in Somalia waters, and approve the principle of a training mission for security forces at the request of the transitional Government in Mogadishu. This mission, which will include less that 200 European police officers and will take place in Uganda, could train up to 2,000 police and military operatives, interesting information that only came to light on the Internet yesterday. To many, it appears the EU is ramping up its involvement internationally. It seems very risky to enter a place such as mainland Somalia given the recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan. Given that the EU appears to be willing to incentivise a project in a country such as Somalia, what incentives will it offer Ireland for increased international involvement? Are there incentives for us? Is there an encouragement for us to do so? What is the Minister's opinion on the European Union's pledge to get involved in State-building, especially in mainland Somalia? Is the Minister in favour of such a move? I thank the Minister for his attention and for informing the House. It was interesting to learn so much about the matter and I was unaware of the involvement in other areas until now.