Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

263. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he has been invited or if he expects to be invited to the NATO summit in Warsaw in Poland in July 2016; if he would accept such an invitation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12328/16]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As Ireland is not a member of NATO, the question of attendance at the Summit in Warsaw does not arise. Ireland’s cooperation with NATO is conducted through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) which we joined in 1999 following approval by Dáil Éireann.  Our purpose in participating in the PfP is to improve our military capabilities so as to ensure that our Defence Forces have the necessary interoperable capabilities to participate effectively and safely with other like minded nations in UN mandated operations.

At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, the establishment of the Partnership Interoperability Initiative was endorsed with the purpose of reinforcing the Alliance’s commitment to cooperative security.

As a participant in the PfP, Ireland is also a member of the Partnership Interoperability Initiative which is now referred to as the Partnership Interoperability Platform. For Ireland, this Platform sets in place measures designed to ensure that the deep connections built up between partner forces during overseas operations will be maintained and deepened, so that together we can contribute to future crisis management operations.

I have received a formal invitation to participate at a meeting of the Interoperability Platform at the Warsaw Summit on 8-9 July 2016 to which Defence Ministers have been invited to participate. The invitation is under consideration with regard to attendance.