Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
129. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence if her Department is committed to the aims and objectives of the new European Union instrument-the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) Regulation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71602/25]
View answerSAFE (Security Action for Europe) is an EU instrument designed to provide Member States with up to €150 billion of loans backed by the EU budget to provide financial assistance to Member States to support their urgent public investments in defence industrial production, aiming to increase production capacity, improve the availability of defence products and address capability gaps.
In terms of the funding mechanism a decision was taken in conjunction with the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation not to draw down funding via the loan mechanism at this time, but we will continue to engage constructively on the SAFE instrument.
I see significant value in the SAFE Regulation as an instrument to enhance the capabilities of Member States. Where appropriate, the Department of Defence will leverage the joint procurement opportunities offered under the SAFE Regulation to progress delivery of our capability requirements. By procuring jointly, we can achieve lower prices than we could alone. In addition, we won’t be competing against other Member States for limited resources.
