Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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44. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the ways in which Ireland has co-operated and collaborated with NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the details of the intelligence sharing, training and upskilling; the details of Ireland’s new agreement with NATO, the Individual Tailored Partnership Programme 2024-2028; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41707/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland's relationship with NATO has always been conducted through Partnership for Peace (PfP), of which Ireland has been a member since 1999 following Government and Dáil approval. 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. The best current example of this is where Irish soldiers are currently deployed in a joint battalion with Polish soldiers (who are NATO members) in Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL mission.

The framework for cooperation between Partners and NATO is known as the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP). Previously, the framework for cooperation between Partners and NATO was the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP), and the Planning and Review Process (PARP). In an effort to streamline the different Partnership tools and processes, under the One Partner One Programme initiative, the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) was developed, to essentially combine the IPCP and PARP. The ITPP framework presents an opportunity to enhance any Partner's cooperation in relevant areas of choice, including cyber, enhancing resilience, improved maritime situational awareness, climate change as well as in work to address the impact of conflict on women and girls through the women, peace, and security agenda. It is a framework for cooperation, it is Partner-led and completely voluntary in nature.

Ireland’s ITPP was agreed with NATO at the end of 2023. The ITPP is for a duration of four years, 2024-2028. The ITPP sets out areas for cooperation e.g. tackling cyber and hybrid threats; in enhancing resilience; in maritime security, and through the women, peace, and security agenda. It also sets out the military areas where the Defence Forces strive to attain maximum interoperability, enabling of capabilities, and the enhancement of the professionalism of the Defence Forces, and its ability to contribute to international peacekeeping operations. Partners such as Malta, Austria and Switzerland have also agreed their ITPP with NATO.

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.

The Defence Forces has partaken of a number of training activities offered by NATO to partners since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These took place at the NATO School in Oberammargau, Germany, along with the Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTECs) and Centre’s of Excellence (COE) run by NATO members and partners in a range of locations. These training activities cover a broad spectrum of military training, including medical, military police, special operations forces, naval service, logistics, and communications and information services. In response to the specific query looking for the details of the intelligence sharing, the Defence Forces do not comment on the aspects of any intelligence sharing relationships for operational reasons. The nature of intelligence activities is confidential therefore it would not be appropriate to discuss such matters further.