Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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138. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will acknowledge the concerns raised by members of the Defence Forces that Irish military hardware and equipment being purchased from Israel and from the Israeli industrial sector is causing a moral dilemma for soldiers, as they do not want to handle said equipment due to the suffering of the Palestinian people; and his views on whether quoting European Union arms procurement rules is a comprehensive enough explanation in respect of the concerns of the Irish Defence Forces members, who are members of a sovereign national army. [19335/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply earlier today on this matter, where I stated that I have been advised by the military authorities that they are not aware of any member of the Defence Forces raising concerns regarding the procurement of such equipment from Israel, nor have I been made aware directly of any such concerns.

The matter of barring Israeli companies from entering tender competitions for the provision of military goods would be akin to Ireland unilaterally placing an embargo on such goods from Israel and this raises, inter alia, serious implications for Irish foreign policy which are outside my remit as Minister for Defence.

Trade policy and market access are largely EU competencies and any restriction or ban on imports from any particular country would have to be concerted at EU level. The manner in which the Department of Defence procures both goods and services remains constant with international best practice and is in line with EU and UN decisions on trade embargoes.