Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will outline the implications of the ongoing war in Ukraine for Ireland’s security and defence. [5216/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 has fundamentally changed the security and defence landscape in Europe. This is reflected in a significant increase in investment in defence expenditure across Europe as well as the decision by Finland and Sweden to join NATO, which reduces further the number of non-NATO members in the European Union.

Shortly after the invasion, EU Leaders adopted the Strategic Compass, which is aimed at ensuring that the EU becomes a stronger and more capable actor in security and defence, both to protect the security of its citizens and to act in crisis situations that affect the EU’s values and interests.

In effect, Member States agreed on a common strategic vision for the EU’s role in security and defence and committed to a set of concrete and wide-ranging objectives to achieve these goals in the coming 5-10 years.

The Strategic Compass specifies clear targets and milestones in four work strands - act, secure, partner and invest. The first anniversary of the Strategic Compass is approaching and EU Foreign and Defence Ministers will meet in March to discuss the significant progress made to date in its implementation.

On the 12th July 2022, and against the backdrop of developments in Ukraine, Government approval was given for a move to 'Level of Ambition 2' (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces (which had been published on 9 February 2022). This will result in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the Commission. The move to LOA2 will require an additional 2,000 personnel (civil and military) over and above the current establishment of 9,500.

Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, Ireland has been and remains resolute in solidarity with and support for Ukraine, continuing to provide strong political and practical support for Ukraine.

In terms of external engagement, Ireland has been very supportive of the military assistance provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces under the European Peace Facility.  It is clear that the EU will need to stay the course in terms of the provision of such assistance well into the future. With the approval of the seventh tranche of financial support to Ukraine, Ireland’s total contribution to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility will reach approximately €77 million.

Given Ireland’s steadfast support for Ukraine, we regard the establishment of an EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine is an important signal of that unity and unwavering EU support and solidarity with Ukraine. From the outset, Ireland was a strong supporter of the establishment of the mission and we look forward to participation in it.

The White Paper on Defence published in 2015 set out the Government's intention to put in place a new fixed cycle of defence reviews.  Such reviews are common practice internationally and give reassurance that policy remains up to date and relevant to changing future circumstances.

My Department will soon commence work on a Strategic Defence Review, which will provide an opportunity to review all aspects of defence policy. The essential ingredients of the defence reviews process are to ensure an updated security assessment and a fresh consideration of the implications of this assessment for overall policy requirements, associated tasks, capability development and resourcing. 

As well as encompassing the Government agreed recommendations from the Commission on the Defence Forces, the future role of the Defence Forces both nationally and internationally will also be considered within the Strategic Defence Review.  

The first stage of this review will be security environment analysis to be conducted by an interdepartmental working group which is due to commence shortly.