Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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42. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the weapons and equipment his Department or the Defence Forces purchased in each of the years 2014 to 2016 to date; that they plan to purchase in the coming year, detailing the value and nature of the purchase and the country and companies from which these purchases were or will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16894/16]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Defence Organisation routinely publishes details of Purchase Orders for goods and services valued at more than €20,000. This information is published on the Department of Defence website – www.defence.ie.

The Department has published details of Purchase Orders including those placed for weapons and equipment by the Defence Organisation for the years 2014 and 2015. I am advised that a small number of Purchase Orders for that timeframe were excluded from the published list for security and operational reasons.

Details of Purchase Orders placed for the first quarter of 2016 are currently being compiled and will be published shortly.

Weapons and equipment procurement requirements for the Defence Forces are kept under constant review. The White Paper on Defence sets out the key capability requirements for the coming decade and the major equipment projects that will be implemented for the Defence Forces. There is a rigorous planning and decision making process in place which underpins equipment procurement priorities.

A significant amount of the information sought by the Deputy is included in the information as already published. However, further details in relation to this information are being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy.