Lack of Transparency Surrounding Irish Contributions to EU Militarisation

NB Please see PQ Below

In response to a PQ response by the Minister for Finance, Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has criticised the lack of transparency surrounding Irish contributions to the increased Militarisation of the EU.

An Teachta Tóibín:

“Ireland has a proud history of neutrality and peace-keeping, and the Irish people have made it abundantly clear that they want no part in any EU army or in the militarisation of the EU. In this vein, I submitted a PQ to the Finance Minister to ascertain whether Ireland contributes to any EU Defence Initiatives and the extent of these contributions. His response provoked serious concern: ‘Contributions to the EU budget are general and are not assigned to specific programmes. Therefore it is not possible to say how much Ireland contributes to particular programmes under the MFF that have defence aspects.’ This seems to indicate that Irish EU contributions could be going towards EU Military projects, as Brussels decides where our contributions go. The Minister further followed up with that the Department of Finance does not have records of those contributions, and that responsibility lay with the DFA and DOD.”

“This indicates an alarming lack of transparency surrounding our contributions to the EU and where exactly Irish taxpayer monies are going. If our contributions are going towards EU defence initiatives, we deserve to know the nature of those contributions and whether these contributions violate our national policy of neutrality.”

______________________________________________

For Written Answer on : 18/05/2021

Question Number(s): 296 Question Reference(s): 25701/21

Department: Finance

Asked by: Peadar Tóibín T.D.

______________________________________________

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Finance if Ireland provides funding to EU defence initiatives and

schemes; if so, the amount in total Ireland has contributed to these schemes; and when these

contributions began.

The Department of Finance is responsible for making Ireland’s contributions to the EU

Budget, as part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The European Defence Fund

(EDF) supports competitive collaborative defence projects through research and

development. The overall value of the EDF under the MFF for 2021-2027 is €7bn.

Contributions to the EU budget are general and are not assigned to specific programmes.

Therefore it is not possible to say how much Ireland contributes to particular programmes

under the MFF that have defence aspects.

Any bilateral contributions to other EU programmes outside of the MFF, including defence-

related programmes, made by a Government Department, such as the Department of Defence

or the Department of Foreign Affairs, are the responsibility of those Departments. The

Department of Finance does not have details of those contributions.

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