Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence for an update on his Department and the Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2025–2028; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60433/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Management Act, 1997, the Secretary General is required to submit a new Strategy Statement, for Ministerial approval, within six months of the appointment of a new Minister. The current Department of Defence and Defence Forces Strategy Statement was forwarded to the me within this period and formally approved in July 2025 and covers the period 2025 to 2028.

The Strategy Statement was prepared in close collaboration with the Defence Forces and, in that context, provides the strategic direction for the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces over the coming three-year period. It also sets out the Vision, Mission and Roles of the Department and the Defence Forces. This is followed by the Policy Context giving high level information on aspects of policy that impact the Department and the Defence Forces and give context to the Strategic Goals which are set out in the document.

The Strategy Statement also sets out the commitments arising from the Programme for Government (PfG) 2025 – Securing Ireland’s Future, and outlines which elements the Department of Defence lead on and those where we have a contributory role. Consultation also took place with Representative Associations and all other Government Departments, and the Statement is consistent with the collaborative approach outlined in the Programme for Government commitments.

The Defence Policy Review, Strategic Framework, Detailed Implementation Plan for the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the Independent Review Group report set the overall context and longer-term strategic framework within which the new Strategy Statement sits. The current Strategy Statement was published on 24th September 2025 and will be reported on in the Annual Report of the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces.

The overall Defence policy framework is flexible and responsive given the dynamic nature of the security environment and enables the Department of Defence and Defence Forces to be adaptive to changing circumstances.