Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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301. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the value of all contracts for goods or services, including drone technology, purchased by the Defence Forces from firms based in the United States of America in 2019 and to date in 2020. [31180/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The primary focus for the procurement of defensive equipment by the Department of Defence is to maintain the capability of the Irish Defence Forces to fulfil the roles as assigned by Government. This includes undertaking overseas Peace Support Operations, and in this regard to afford the greatest possible force protection to Irish troops whilst on such missions. The principle of competitive tendering for Government contracts is used by the Department of Defence for the acquisition of defensive equipment 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 and on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), where appropriate, in line with the EU procurement Directives, including the Defence and Security Directive. Such tender competitions are open to any company or country in accordance with the terms of all UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes or restrictions.

The amount spent by the Department on defence equipment and services from firms based in the United States of America in 2019 and 2020 to date is laid out in the following table.

Total spend - €1,018,603.38

Defensive equipment items purchased during this period from USA manufacturers include night vision devices, anti-armour systems and dual casualty transportation systems.

The manner in which the Department of Defence procures both goods and services remains consistent with international best practice.