Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2025
252. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the resources being provided to ensure transparency, enforcement and compliance in the sale of dual use products, in view of commitment 20 of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity to facilitate growth in the area, and the additional burden it will place on his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50141/25]
View answerUnder the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, the Department of Defence has committed to continuing to progress the interests of Irish SME’s to facilitate growth and ensure deeper engagement in the commercial dual use area - both nationally and at an EU level.
I understand from my colleague the Minister of Defence that while his Department will look to develop a more structured approach to enhance engagement with Irish SME’s in the area of dual use, the methodology around this support is currently being developed. The Department of Defence currently only facilitates Irish SME’s during their initial interaction with initiatives such as the European Defence Fund. This interaction is primarily administrative in nature assisting entities in navigating the bureaucratic requirements associated with collaborative EU programmes.
As Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, my responsibilities centre around the control of exports of dual-use and military items under EU and national legislation. The primary purpose of export controls is not to block trade or exports, but to enable the free movement of legitimate goods while ensuring that certain sensitive categories are subject to appropriate regulation. These controls are designed to manage risk, uphold international peace and security, and ensure Ireland’s compliance with its international obligations.
The bulk of dual-use exports from Ireland are mainstream business ICT products, both hardware and software (networking, data storage, cybersecurity etc). They are categorised as dual-use items as a consequence of fact that they incorporate strong encryption for ICT security purposes.
My officials will continue to ensure that export controls are applied in a robust and transparent way, thereby ensuring that legitimate business transactions by reputable Irish traders are not damaged in any way while also ensuring that exports of controlled goods are thoroughly risk assessed in the context of ongoing conflicts, diversion of goods and humanitarian considerations.
