Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
269. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding the level of expenditure on defence compared to our EU counterparts, by percentage of overall Exchequer expenditure, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3467/26]
View answerDefence Expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), based on latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) stood at 0.2% of GDP in 2024. It has been acknowledged and was referenced in the Commission on the Defence Report, that this level of percentage spend is lower than other EU Member States.
Any assessment of comparably sized countries and militaries must have regard to the fact that national threats and defence policies differ. International comparison of military expenditure is also made difficult by the lack of publicly available data, and by the breadth of difference between nations in their international security and defence policies. As such, the international perspective is best used for context rather than comparison between militaries.
It should also be noted that Irelands GDP has grown substantially in the 10-year period from 2015 to 2024. Arising from this significant shift in the National Accounts, Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) was introduced by the CSO in 2015 as a supplementary measure of the level of the Irish economy, to exclude globalisation effects.
While GNI* was introduced by the CSO to allow for the impact of globalisation on the Irish economy, it doesn’t facilitate international comparisons. However, in that context and using the latest data published by the European Defence Agency, details on defence spending as a % of national income across EU Member States in 2024 indicates the level of Irish expenditure on defence, at less than 0.4% of GNI*.
Within the EU, it is also accepted that defence and security is a national competence, including national spending on defence and security and there is no EU requirement on Ireland or any other EU member State to achieve any specific target in relation to Defence expenditure.
Within the resources allocated to Defence, the Defence Forces make a significant contribution to domestic security, provide a broad range of supports to the civil authorities, undertake, inter alia, Emergency Aeromedical Support (EAS) and fishery protection roles and are widely respected for their contribution to international peace and security. Ireland provides a level of support to the UN that, relative to the size of our Defence Forces, exceeds that of many countries.
2025 saw record provisional expenditure of €1.039 billion allocated to the Defence Vote - the first-time spending on the Defence Vote has exceeded one billion. For 2026, €1.174 billion is allocated to the Defence Vote, an increase of €135 million (13 per cent) compared to 2025.
In addition, the recently-published Defence NDP Sectoral Plan, highlights record levels of multi-annual capital investment rising from €300 million in 2026 to €360 million in 2029–2030. This represents an increase of €600 million (55%) on the previous baseline of €1.1 billion and will provide almost €1 billion in Defence capital funding alone to 2028.
This evidences visible improvements over recent years, and within the funding provided, the Defence Forces continue to deliver a broad range of capabilities and operations, both at home and overseas.
