Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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13. To ask the Minister for Defence the amount spent to date in 2014 on weaponry; the amount that was purchased from Israel; the projected purchase of weaponry from Israel for 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34573/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The primary purpose for the procurement of weaponry and defensive equipment by the Department of Defence is to maintain the capability of the Irish Defence Forces on overseas Peace Support Operations and to afford the greatest possible force protection to Irish troops whilst on such missions. The amount spent on weaponry by the Department including ammunition stands at €10.6m to date. I am advised that the Department of Defence has acquired no weaponry from Israel this year. However, other non-ordnance related military equipment was acquired from an Israeli company with a value of almost €2m, exclusive of VAT. The expenditure relates to a contract awarded to Elbit Systems for the supply of ten Ground Surveillance Radars to the Defence Forces following on from a detailed tender process carried out over the last twelve months. The main purpose for the acquisition of the Ground Surveillance Radars is again for force protection on overseas missions. At present, there are no plans to purchase weaponry from Israel in 2015.

A number of Israeli companies have successfully tendered for and have been awarded contracts by the Department of Defence for the provision of defensive equipment to the Defence Forces as a result of competitive tender competitions. This is not a new development and has been the situation for many years.

The principle of competitive tendering for Government contracts is used by the Department of Defence for the acquisition of defensive equipment, including weaponry, for the Defence Forces. Central to those procedures is the requirement to allow fair competition between suppliers through the submission of tenders following advertising of the tender competition on the e-tenders site.

Such tender competitions are open to any individual company or country in accordance with the terms of all UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes or restrictions. There are no such restrictions or embargoes in place on Israel or Israeli companies. Tender competitions are held in accordance with the EU Code of Conduct on Export Controls.