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Today, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D., launched a seminar on “Opportunities in the European Security and Defence Markets”, which was organised jointly by Enterprise Ireland and the Defence Organisation. The objective of the seminar,  which was attended by representatives from academia, industry and the European Defence Agency (EDA), was to afford Irish industry and research institutions an opportunity to engage with the EDA, and to hear from the Defence Forces about initiatives in their area of capability development.  The key note address was provided by Madame Claude France Arnould, Chief Executive of the EDA. 

In his opening address, Minister Shatter outlined Ireland’s engagement with the EDA and the support provided by the Agency in the ongoing development of Defence Forces capabilities for international Peace Support Operations.  The Minister referred to the role of the EDA in the area of Research and Technology and industry cooperation and the fact that the EDA affords Ireland the opportunity to keep abreast of research into leading edge technology in capability development. In this regard, the Minister said that “…….with the increasing integration of and cross over between civilian and military technology development, there are now significant opportunities to leverage existing civil technology development in Ireland in the military capability development field.”

The Minister emphasised that a robust and competitive research and development environment is key to helping economic recovery. In this regard, the Minister stated that “It is Government policy that we promote and support investment in technology research and development and that we put in place incentives for companies engaged in research and development.”  The Government currently provides over €800 million per annum to support science and technological development in the State’s many research organisations. In this regard, the Minister said that, “.....Such investment has been critical to the development of Ireland as an internationally recognised base of research excellence. “

In concluding his address, the Minister said that he viewed the seminar as a historic first in a productive engagement involving our Defence Forces, Enterprise Ireland and the European Union in the development and delivery of leading edge research and capability for the Defence Forces.