No international defence arrangements in place ahead of EU presidency - McEntee

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

Ireland has not made security agreements with other countries for when the country takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Minister for Defence has said.

Helen McEntee appeared before the Joint Committee on Defence and National Security on Thursday morning and was asked about Ireland’s preparations for the Presidency, which starts on July 1st.

She said: “There’s no agreement. Despite reports today that we’ve made an agreement with France and the UK, there’s no agreement that we would have ships in our waters, in our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), or within our 12 nautical mile limit.

“But I am exploring what options may be available to us, should we require assistance.”

Senator Gerard Craughwell raised the issue and asked about intelligence sharing: “Nato countries cannot share intelligence with non-Nato countries.

“I’d be interested to know how we managed to get around that one?”

Ms McEntee said: “These are all the matters that I am currently engaging at the moment with to identify what we could possibly do, what the possible options are, given that we are not a Nato member, given that we are a neutral country.”

During the six-month presidency Ireland will hold a “high-level meeting” of 47 heads of state, will host a “huge amount of visits” and have ministers travelling to the country throughout that period, she said.

“It’s really important that the security, not just of our own citizens, but that all of those are taken extremely seriously.

“So, I’m currently engaging on what possible powers may be available to us.”

And said she contacted allies who may be able to “provide support if needed”.

Ms McEntee pointed out that Ireland’s maritime domain is seven times that of its land mass and said: “We have certain capabilities, but if we require additional support, we should not be afraid to ask for it if it is within our constitutional limits.”