160. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number and value of dual use export licences granted in 2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by destination country, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50109/26]

My Department’s responsibilities centre around the control of exports of dual-use and military items under EU and national legislation. Controls on the export of dual-use items are administered by my Department, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items.

The bulk of dual-use exports from Ireland are mainstream business ICT products, both hardware and software. They are categorised as dual-use items as a consequence of the fact that they incorporate strong encryption for ICT security purposes.

All export licence applications are considered by my officials in accordance with criteria set out within the relevant dual-use and military EU and National Regulations, and with Ireland’s international obligations and responsibilities as members of non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements. Each application is assessed individually, considering the nature of the items, the destination country, the identity of the end-user, and the intended end-use. Ireland’s decisions are guided by the EU Common Position and its eight criteria, which include respect for human rights, international obligations, regional stability and risk of diversion to another end use or end user.

A breakdown of the number of licences issued, along with their maximum values by category and destination, is published each year in the annual report under the Control of Exports Act 2023. The report for 2025 is due to be published in the coming weeks, while the 2026 report will be published in 2027. Each annual report provides a comprehensive overview of export activity for the relevant year and ensures that information is presented in a complete and verified manner. All Annual Reports published to date under the Control of Exports Act 2023, and its predecessor the Controls of Exports Act 2008, can be found on my Department's website.