Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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185. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on Ireland's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme; the current activities that Ireland are participating in as part of the programme; the financial cost associated with membership in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and estimate for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24603/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland's relationship with NATO is conducted through Partnership for Peace (PfP), of which Ireland has been a member since 1999. Participation in PfP is seen as fundamental to Ireland being able to meet its obligations in providing professional peacekeepers for international crisis management and peacekeeping operations mandated by the UN and in enhancing the Defence Forces’ interoperability with other professional military forces.

PfP retains its own separate identity and was founded based on an individual bilateral relationship between NATO and each of the Partnership for Peace countries. Ireland is currently in the process of developing a renewed partnership with NATO through a new Individually Tailored Partnership Programme. This new framework presents an opportunity to enhance our cooperation in relevant areas of choice.

NATO is the international standards organisation for military forces. Access to NATO training and standards, through participation in PfP, has proved invaluable in the development of Defence Forces capabilities for the increasingly complex and challenging crisis management operations we face today. It improves the quality of our contribution to UN missions and UN-mandated missions including those led by regional organisations such as the EU and NATO.

The Defence Forces participate in the Operational Capability Concept (OCC), which is an evaluation and feedback process that provides for external evaluation by trained evaluators of military capabilities in accordance with NATO standards. Defence Forces involvement with OCC is a reflection of how they strive to reach that standard and benchmark. There are no membership fees associated with this participation.

PfP is a voluntary and cooperative framework between NATO and individual non-members of NATO and as such there is no funding obligations arising from Ireland’s involvement. In order to manage our partnership with NATO, Ireland maintains an office in a NATO building in Brussels, the rental and maintenance costs of which are directly payable to NATO.

Separately, the Department of Foreign Affairs has made a number of voluntary contributions to NATO Trust Funds which provide capacity-building support to partners including Jordan, Georgia, Tunisia, Serbia and Moldova, as well as other UN Troop Contributing Countries. Ireland has provided this support where the activities supported by the Trust Fund align with Ireland’s foreign and security policy.

Other associated costs made by the Department of Defence relate to the Defence Forces attendance at NATO Training centres, secure communication costs, and our engagement in the NATO Cyber Defence of Excellence Centre in Tallinn.