Irish businesses will have more freedom to work in the defence sector, under a Minister’s plans to scrap an “outdated” requirement for Government approval before State agencies can support those working with the military industry.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke is bringing a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday which is being described as a plan to “cut red tape and support Irish SMEs involved in the defence sector”.
Under a 1987 law, the State agencies Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are not allowed to engage with or promote “any activity of a primarily military relevance without the prior approval of the Government”.
In effect, it means that the entire Cabinet would have previously had to give permission for SMEs to have any involvement in the defence sector.
A Government source described the 1987 law as “an outdated constraint that no longer fits today’s economic and technological landscape”. The same source stressed that the proposed change “does not change or impact our defence policy, which stays entirely as a national competence”.
It is understood the Government believes it needs to reform the law to reflect an overlap between defence and dual-use projects in areas such as cybersecurity, AI and space systems. Some Irish companies have developed specific tech expertise in areas that have become more relevant to the defence sector.
Changing the law would allow businesses involved in defence to benefit from more funding, including the €409 billion European Competitiveness Fund, funding for which will be made available from 2028.
The reform would mean that Irish funds would be able to benefit from increased military and defence spending across the EU.
Burke is bringing the amendment forward under the Industrial Development (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which would bring in a number of different changes and reforms to allow IDA and Enterprise Ireland to be more competitive.