Minister McEntee has Constructive Discussion with Italian Defence Minister

The Minister for Defence, Helen McEntee TD, today (Monday, 25 May) announced that her Department is to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Defence on the procurement of defence equipment and materiel on a Government-to-Government (G2G) basis.

The Minister made the announcement following a bilateral meeting in Rome with her Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto.

Ministers McEntee and Crosetto also discussed the situations in Lebanon and Ukraine as well as Ireland’s forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Council.

Speaking in Rome today, Minister McEntee said:

“I warmly welcome the decision to sign the Memorandum of Cooperation with Italy, which will cover the high-level aspects underpinning G2G and joint procurement cooperation between the two countries.

“The National Development Plan 2026 – 2030 includes an increase in defence capital funding of €600 million to €1.7 billion, with €300 million of this allocated for 2026.

“The proposed defence investment encompasses around 80 projects in the land, sea and air domains.

“This will see investment in a broad range of priority equipment projects, and it is in this context that Ireland is exploring the possibility of procurement and acquisition co-operation with other Member States.

“A policy analysis in 2024 recommended that G2G be utilised as the primary means of acquiring complex defensive capabilities (CDCs) for Ireland.

“The Memorandum of Cooperation with Italy will complement other bilateral G2G agreements for materiel cooperation already in place with France, Finland and the Netherlands. I also expect that others will be put in place in the coming months.

“This approach will help us in addressing bottlenecks in the supply chain and uncertainty as to price, availability and delivery time of military equipment arising from the conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere, which have resulted in dramatic price inflation.

“I am confident that procurement and acquisition co-operation with other Member States will be beneficial in terms of leveraging supply, both in terms of cost and delivery timelines as well as maintenance and logistics arrangements and will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the EU Defence and Security Directive.”

Addressing the situation in Lebanon post-UNIFIL, Minister McEntee said:

“Ireland has a long and proud involvement in and attachment to Lebanon and, particularly, to the people of south Lebanon and we are keen to continue to play a meaningful role in support of those people and to consider how the international community to maintain its support to Lebanon.

“While we look forward to hearing from the UN on how they think we can best continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces following the withdrawal of the UNIFIL mandate in 2027, using UN tools.

“I assured Minister Crosetto that Ireland fully supports EU Common Security & Defence Policy (CSDP) efforts, including the establishment of a CSDP mission in Lebanon, as a means of contributing to peace and security in southern Lebanon, an initiative on which we have been working with a number of like-minded Member States.

Ireland will use its forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU to work with the European External Action Service to progress its consideration of what form any CSDP support could take.”

Minister McEntee also confirmed Ireland’s “resolute support for Ukraine in our response to Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and morally reprehensible war against Ukraine.” The Minister said that “the Government remains committed to working with our European and Ukrainian counterparts to maintain our solidarity with Ukraine and to ensure Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against brutal Russian aggression.”

The Ministers also discussed Ireland’s forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU, for which Minister McEntee said “Ireland is positioned to constructively take forward the security and defence agenda, supporting a coherent, inclusive and coordinated EU response that respects the national security and defence policies of all Member States, while strengthening the Union’s collective resilience.” The Minister added that “there are a range of key legislative files in the defence sphere that will likely require progression during our Presidency.”

• The Memorandum of Cooperation between Ireland and Italy is expected to be signed shortly by the two countries respective National Armaments Directors (NADs).
• The Irish NAD post is held by the Assistant Secretary in charge of the Department’s Strategic Change & Capability Development Division.
• The Memorandum will be non-binding and will not create any obligation to procure; rather it will provide the necessary conditions to enable G2G and joint procurements. Specific opportunities will be subject to approval by the Minister for Defence.
• G2G procurement can also be used for the purchase of non-CDC equipment and services, either from existing stocks or through contracts signed by the relevant government, assuming a compliant procurement process was followed, which allows a small state to gain pricing economies of scale.
• G2G procurement arrangements are legally provided for under S.I. No. 62/2012 (transposing Directive 2009/81/EC on defence and security procurement). The regulations allows for a derogation from competitive procurements for “a contract awarded by the Government to the government of any state outside the State relating to - (i) the supply of military equipment or sensitive equipment, (ii) works and services directly linked to other equipment, or (iii) works and services specifically for military purposes, or sensitive works and sensitive services.”