Ireland should avail of loans available from the European Commission to purchase military equipment if the opportunity arises again, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said.

Last year, then minister for finance Paschal Donohoe vetoed proposals by the Department of Defence – where Harris was Minister at the time – that the State should look at borrowing up to €100 million for military projects under a European Union initiative known as the Safe [Security Action For Europe] programme.

Speaking on Sunday, the Fine Gael leader signalled the Government should look again at this issue if a further round of loans under the Safe scheme became available.

In an interview with RTE’s This Week programme, Harris said: “It is my position that if that reopens for applications, Ireland should avail of that for two reasons. One, I think we need to take every opportunity that we can to increase spending in this crucial area. And, secondly, I think from a European solidarity point of view, it is important that we are taking the security of the oceans around our island and the air above our country seriously. And I think Safe is a mechanism to do that.”

Harris said he had had discussions with party colleague and Minister for Defence Helen McEntee about availing of any further funding that may materialise to accelerate the Defence Forces’ capabilities.

He said the Republic had already entered into several government-to-government procurement agreements to acquire defence and military equipment.

“We cannot, as a country, convince ourselves that we are in any way immune from the big threats,” he said.

He said while no decision had been taken, the Coalition had an open mind about opting in to the Safe scheme.

In December, it was reported that the commission was considering a second edition of the multibillion-euro programme for defence projects. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the original €150 billion scheme had been over-subscribed and several member states were now calling for a second one.

The Irish Times reported in December that official Government records showed the Department of Defence believed that last summer there was agreement at ministerial adviser level for the Republic to express an interest in taking out such loans.

However, the Department of Finance said Donohoe had decided the State should not apply for such funding.

The Department of Defence had suggested that any such loans, which would be repaid over a period of up to 45 years, could be used to replace the fleet of turboprop trainer aircraft operated by the Air Corps, or to provide new light tactical armoured vehicles for the Army.

However, one of the concerns in the Department of Finance was that the Republic could borrow money more cheaply on the markets.

The Department of Public Expenditure maintained it had been told by the Department of Defence several months earlier that the State would use only provisions in the Safe scheme to buy equipment in co-operation with other member states rather than avail of loans under the scheme.

The Department of Defence’s Safe loan case stated that, although it may be true the Republic could achieve “marginally more advantageous interest rates on the open market, the significant ancillary benefits that Safe loans can provide more than outweigh this benefit”.