Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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65. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if Ireland intends to make use of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) EU financial instrument; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37515/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is an EU instrument designed to provide Member States with up to €150 billion of loans backed by the EU budget to provide financial assistance to Member States to support their urgent public investments in defence industrial production, aiming to increase production capacity, improve the availability of defence products and address capability gaps.

Following an assessment and engagement by officials from my Department with the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, the European Commission was informed that Ireland is not seeking SAFE funding at this juncture.

I remain focused on developing our national defence capabilities and transforming our defence forces. I believe SAFE can still play a valuable role in supplementing ongoing efforts by the Department of Defence through the collaborative opportunities presented by SAFE. Ireland will seek to play an active part in collaborating under the SAFE mechanism in joint procurement initiatives with other EU Member States where alignment with our national capability development plan is identified.

In line with this approach, the Department of Defence has already opened up the contract for the supply of Integrated Modular Body Armour Systems (IMBAS) to other EU Member States under the SAFE Regulation. This illustrates our support for SAFE in a very practical way. It further visibly demonstrates how the SAFE instrument can be used to the mutual benefit of Member States who choose to use it.

The Government continues to invest significantly in defence through the national budget, with an increase in capital funding of €1.7 billion allocated to the Defence Development Plan for the period 2026-2030. The funding represents an increase of €600 million or 55% on the previous baseline figure of €1.1 billion. This increase in funding will be utilised to address long-standing capability gaps, modernise core infrastructure needs and support the deliver of defence responsibilities over the coming years.