Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether arrangements exist for refunding the cost of UK security assets used to protect Irish subsea infrastructure from Russian attack.

The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.