2026-06-09

128. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Defence to outline Ireland's position at the recent meeting of EU defence ministers; the main outcomes regarding Ukraine, the European defence industrial strategy and EU defence co-operation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43590/26]

I attended that meeting on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in Brussels recently. There was also an informal meeting recently, but the meeting in Brussels was a formal one. It took place against the backdrop of an evolving and increasingly complex security environment. It was a key moment for EU member states to reaffirm their steadfast solidarity with, and support for, Ukraine. There were two main topics on the agenda: EU support to Ukraine and the repercussions of the situation in the Middle East on European defence and security, along with an update on the state of play of defence readiness, among other matters. In the session on EU support to Ukraine, which was attended by video in part by Ukraine's newly appointed Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov, discussion was focused on the latest developments in EU-Ukraine defence industrial co-operation, including progress on implementing the Ukraine support loan, the European Peace Facility and other EU instruments, such as Security Action for Europe, SAFE. Ireland has been resolute in our support for Ukraine in response to Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and morally reprehensible war against it. The Irish Government remains committed to working with our European and Ukrainian counterparts to maintain solidarity with Ukraine and to ensure that Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against brutal Russian aggression. Discussion on the ongoing situation in the Middle East at the Council was also very welcome. The Irish Government remains deeply concerned about the conflict in the Gulf and the wider Middle East, and the implications for Lebanon, in particular. The Government remains deeply conscious and appreciative of Irish Defence Forces personnel, and all peacekeepers, currently serving under the UNIFIL mandate in south Lebanon. I again commend those members of Óglaigh na hÉireann, past and present, on their service in the work of international peace and security, as I am sure all Members do. In addition, yesterday I attended the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Nicosia in Cyprus. I can certainly discuss the meeting, but I do not have a full written report of the meeting yet because I only got home last night.

I welcome the Minister of State home. I also welcome the fact that, at the meeting of EU defence ministers, there was continued support and solidarity among all nations with the people of Ukraine, given the circumstances they currently endure. Was there any specific discussion at the meeting about a post-war scenario in Ukraine and the potential for a peace agreement between the countries? I note that, recently, Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Downing Street where he met with President Macron and the German President. Those nations again reiterated their support for Ukraine. At any point during the meeting did the talks come to the point where there may be a peace agreement, what that might look like, and what a post-war scenario might look like in Ukraine?

That certainly was mentioned at the meeting of defence ministers, but the meeting was mainly focused on the defence response at the moment. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, at the Foreign Affairs Council and the Taoiseach at the European Council will be discussing that matter in considerable depth this month. There is certainly a lot of discussion about it, but what is important is that we continue to support Ukraine in the meantime. There needs to be peace, but it needs to be a just peace. It needs to be fair to Ukraine. We need to continue to support them in the meantime. For my part, solidarity will be very much in evidence at the General Affairs Council, where the whole issue of enlargement of the European Union will be very high up on the agenda during the Presidency. We will continue to support Ukraine, particularly on the mobilisation of the European Peace Facility support. We are going to continue to engage the Department of Defence. The Defence Forces have provided bilateral support to Ukraine, fully in accordance with our military neutrality and our commitment to providing non-lethal support. That support will continue. We are also contributing to the EU loan that is going to Ukraine, which will partly be used for defence purposes as well.

I compliment the Government on its continued support, in particular for that loan measure. The Minister of State mentioned the ending of the UNIFIL mission at the end of this year. Are there other European countries like us that are concerned they will not have the opportunity to provide peacekeeping missions in other parts of the world? Unfortunately, if troops from European countries are not keeping peace, more lives will be lost, more conflict will reign and there will be less stability and more volatility in the world. Are there other countries like us that have a similar measure whereby the participation of their forces in peacekeeping missions must be sanctioned by the UN Security Council? Are they thinking of how they might be able to operate in the future when it is clear that the Security Council will not provide an opportunity for peacekeeping missions?

In relation to UNIFIL in particular, there are soldiers in it from all over the world. There were some deaths at the weekend. I pay tribute to them as well. That mission, which is a United Nations-run mission, will end. As far as I can tell, there is no other European Union country that needs a UN mandate to send their troops on peacekeeping missions. I have spoken to Switzerland and its troops can go on other missions, not just UN missions, for example. They deal with their neutrality in a different way from us. They do not need a UN mandate. If there were to be discussions in the future about a peacekeeping mission continuing in Lebanon, perhaps at the invitation of the Lebanese Government, most countries would be able to at least consider taking part, but we would not even be able to be part of the discussions. Last week, Operation Irini, which is an EU-led mission, lost its UN mandate. Our service members had to leave on that day, but the mission continues. Everyone else stayed but our people had to leave. That is what the triple lock has done. That is all we are trying to change in relation to that.