Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

194. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade what screening measures were taken to ensure that Irish taxpayers money contributed to the Act in Support of Ammunition Production did not contribute to violations of international law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8008/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), agreed by the Council of the European Union in 2023, was designed to meet the urgent short-term need for the EU and its member states to support the ramping-up of manufacturing capacities of the European defence industry and to secure supply chains.

Financial support from the ASAP is funded through an allocation of a budget of €500 million from the European Commission achieved through the redistribution of funds from existing allocations of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) budget, including an additional contribution from Norway bringing the combined funds to €513m. The Commission’s €500m is matched with co-financing of around €500 million from Member States and other sources. Participating Member States have the option to contribute matching funding through the use of their national allocations or from other EU funding sources. There is no obligation on Member States to provide matching funding and it is not proposed that Ireland would reallocate any of its EU funding to the ASAP.

Member States contribute to the EU Budget on the principle of “universality”, meaning that our national contribution is towards the entire budget. We do not pick and choose EU programmes to which we contribute. Article 8.4A of ASAP explicitly states that actions in relation to the production of goods or delivery of services which are prohibited by applicable international law shall not be eligible for funding.

ASAP’s work programme covers the period 2023-2025 when all funded projects will be completed.