Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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408. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of progress made towards an institute for peace support and leadership training to focus on international education in the field of peacekeeping and conflict resolution. [18875/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The White Paper on Defence included a commitment to evaluating the potential development of a new Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training at the Defence Forces Training Centre in The Curragh. Also, the Programme for a Partnership Government included a commitment to developing this Institute. It is foreseen that the new Institute will have international standing and contribute to the overall development of knowledge and experience in the areas of peace support, leadership and conflict resolution.

Scoping work was carried out on the proposal throughout 2016 and still continues. A concept paper has been developed and some initial consultation with national and international third level and research institutes and potential philanthropic contributors has also taken place. Ongoing additional consultation is required to further explore the feasibility of the concept and this is expected to continue in 2017.