Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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66. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if a person (details supplied) will chair each of the four sessions of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy planned for June 2023. [20532/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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67. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the person or body that will be invited to the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy; and how their expertise will be determined. [20533/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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68. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence how long the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy will sit on each of the four days scheduled for June 2023. [20534/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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69. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if all seven of the planned themes will be discussed at each of the four planned sessions of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. [20535/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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70. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if members of the public will be permitted to attend the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy; and how they can apply for admission. [20536/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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71. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence when the final report of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy will be published. [20537/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 to 71, inclusive, together.

In order to build a deeper understanding of the threats faced by the State, and the links to, and between, our foreign, security and defence policy, I have convened a Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.

The Consultative Forum will take place over four full days in three different locations; on 22 June at University College Cork, on 23 June at the University of Galway, and on 26-27 June at Dublin Castle.

The Forum will be chaired by Louise Richardson DBE (formerly Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews), who will produce a report to be delivered to me following its conclusion.

The Forum will be open, inclusive and, as the name suggests, consultative. It will involve a wide range of stakeholders, with participation from civilian and military experts and practitioners. Attendance at the Forum will consist of invited guests, from Ireland and internationally, with expertise and practical experience in the areas to be discussed.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence are currently consulting with academic, civil society, research and state agency partners to identify a wide range of speakers and participants to participate in the Forum, representing a breadth of experience and views.

There will also be space reserved for attendance by the general public. Discussions will be live-streamed and there will be an opportunity for online submissions, which will form part of the chairperson’s consideration. Anyone interested in engaging in the process will be able to do so.

The Forum will be a broad discussion with a series of individual sessions across the four days, each looking at specific issues, such as examining the threats we face, including cyber, hybrid, disinformation and threats to critical infrastructure. These sessions will also provide an opportunity for detailed discussion on Ireland’s work to protect the rules-based international order, through our engagement in peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, as well as arms control and disarmament.

The programme for and the topics to be discussed at each session are being developed and the daily programmes will be published as soon as possible.

Full details of the arrangements for registration, live-streaming and the making of submissions will be published by the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence in the coming weeks.

Importantly, there are no predetermined or preconceived outcomes from discussions at the Forum and participants will be free to raise any relevant issues during deliberations. Once the Chair’s report has been submitted to me, I will consider its findings and decide whether to take recommendations to Government.