Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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234. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the procedures to be followed in order for Ireland to commit to the security action for Europe regulation further to his announcement on 27 June 2025 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37712/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, entered into force on 29 May 2025. It is a new EU financial instrument that focuses on common procurement initiatives for priority capabilities. The European Commission will provide up to €150Bn to be disbursed to interested Member States on the basis of their national plans. These plans should contain a description of the defence product and a description of the planned activities for which the funding is being sought. The disbursements will take the form of competitively priced long-maturity loans, to be repaid by the beneficiary Member States.

The following procedures and timelines would need to be adhered to by any Member State that is looking to utilise the loan element of SAFE. 1) Member States must express their interest in a SAFE loan by 29th July - providing a minimum and maximum loan amount. 2) The deadline for submission of requests for financial assistance and associated defence industry plans is 30th November 2025. 3) Member States will be required to keep the Commission appraised of the development of the project every six months. 4) The last approval for disbursements can take place up until 31 December 2030.

In terms of the collaborative procurement opportunities element that SAFE presents, Ireland will look to identify common procurement opportunities offered by other Member States that align with our existing approved Equipment Development Plan (EDP) priorities. It should be noted that one of the criteria to availing of the certain derogations under the SAFE regulation from a procurement perspective is that at least one of the participating Member States must use SAFE loans. As such Ireland can potentially utilise such common procurement opportunities with other Member States without utilising the loan facility under SAFE.