275. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding any assessment of the Defence Policy Review 2024 (details supplied); in the context of an ever changing international landscape; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63027/26]

The international security landscape continues to evolve rapidly, presenting new and emerging challenges that require Ireland to maintain a responsive, adaptable and forward-looking approach to defence policy.

The 2015 White Paper on Defence established a fixed cycle of defence reviews to ensure Defence policy remains current, agile and adaptive to the prevailing security environment. The first iteration of these reviews was the White Paper Update published in 2019. The Defence Policy Review 2024 (DPR) 'Adjusting and affirming our Defence policy in an era of change' is the latest in this cycle of reviews.

Ireland’s defence policy continues to be shaped by the Defence Policy Review 2024, the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces 2022, and the ongoing programme of Defence Forces transformation primarily through the second Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the updated Strategic Framework both published in February. Further detail is set out in the Department of Defence and Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2026 - 2029 published in July. The Defence Policy Review 2024 reaffirmed and where appropriate, revised defence policy to 2028 in response to a significantly changed security environment, placing particular emphasis on maritime security, enhanced surveillance and monitoring capabilities, defence resilience, and the modernisation of command and control arrangements.

The Defence Policy Review 2024 was based on a revised Security Environment Assessment (SEA), carried out by an interdepartmental and interagency working group. Within the context of the overarching defence policy responses set out above, defence policy continues to be an iterative and evolving process, regularly reviewed and refined to address emerging risks, evolving threats and new security priorities including the critical strategic importance of Ireland's maritime domain. Recent examples of this ongoing process include Ireland's first National Maritime Security Strategy, its associated action plan published in February 2026, and the new statutory reforms aimed at enhancing new powers for members of the Defence Forces to safeguard Ireland’s maritime domain and protect the State’s sovereign rights in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.

My Department has undertaken initial scoping work on the next iteration of the defence reviews and it is intended to publish this in 2028.