Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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125. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position Ireland intends to take at the European Council regarding the proposed ReArm Europe package from the European Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12131/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Russia’s continuing illegal aggression against Ukraine has changed the European security environment dramatically. In addition to the large scale war on the European continent and increasing threat from Russia to Europe's security and defence, the EU is faced with a multitude of other threats and challenges to its security. Like other Member States, Ireland is increasingly susceptible to threats such as cyber-attacks, espionage, and attacks on critical infrastructure.

Ireland needs to take our own security and defence, and our responsibility towards our like-minded partners seriously, and it is very clear that no state acting alone can address the entirety of existing and emerging security challenges.

While there are no plans to alter our policy of military neutrality, the Programme for Government recommits to the major transformation and modernisation programme underway for the Irish Defence Forces, which includes radical and urgent capability development. Ireland has already seen significant increases in our own national defence spending in the past few years, which has allowed us to procure much needed capabilities.

In that context, proposals from the EU such as those in the EU White Paper on the Future of European Defence, as well as those set out by President von der Leyen under the ReArm Europe Plan, may provide assistance to Ireland in achieving further progress.

The Taoiseach will attend the European Council in Brussels this week, where Leaders will discuss these proposals in the context of the EU’s continuing support for Ukraine and the need for proposals to strengthen European defence.

Ireland plans to take a constructive approach to the proposals outlined in President von der Leyen’s ReArm Europe initiative, which we believe will assist Member States to fund White Paper objectives. It is a further opportunity for the EU to demonstrate a credible and unified approach in taking responsibility for our own defence, whilst also stepping up our collective efforts to support Ukraine in the short term, and ensure its ability to defend itself in the long term.

I, along with the Taoiseach, will engage with our European partners to progress this discussion over the coming months, as we work together to ensure that our collective decision on the way ahead respects the security and defence policies of all Member States - including those, like Ireland, who are militarily neutral - whilst addressing our critical and pressing capability gaps.