Simon Harris’s department discussed procurement policy with Lockheed Martin lobbyists just months before government announced a record €1.49 billion defence budget.
The Department of Defence is regularly briefing international arms lobbyists on policy and procurement in meetings registered as "lobbying activities".
Senior department officials are updating the Irish Defence & Security Association (IDSA) – which represents Lockheed Martin, Saab and other arms manufacturers – on state and EU defence policy.
An hour with the department
Government’s latest meeting with the group took place on 10 July this year.
Irish Defence & Security Association founders and directors Caitríona Heinl and Pat O’Connor attended alongside Azure Forum member and MacGill Summer School assistant director Vincent McCarty.
The group spoke for an hour with Department of Defence assistant secretary Eamonn Murtagh and official James Ryan at the department’s Trinity Point offices in Dublin 2.
Though the department has committed to publishing minutes of meetings with IDSA online, minutes for this meeting aren’t yet available. The Ditch obtained them under freedom of information.
Minutes show Murtagh "updated the IDSA on events in the EU and nationally including the security action for Europe (SAFE) regulation" before IDSA representatives "updated on their ongoing activities, engagement with industry and informed on their upcoming schedule of events".
IDSA "briefed on the potential benefits of industrial participation policy to support Ireland's existing national defence responsibilities" and "referenced a requirement to develop a defence industry strategy that incorporates industrial participation".
The group also "spoke on the benefits that would accrue for Irish SMEs through increased awareness of the ongoing development of the EDP" – the equipment development plan concerning weaponry for the Defence Forces.
This latest discussions were the second meeting between IDSA and the Department since the two sides agreed in December 2024 that "these meetings could potentially be held quarterly", as reported by The Ditch.
The previous month IDSA held a confidential meeting with department officials at a Dún Laoghaire hotel where attendees were instructed to maintain secrecy. In response to The Ditch's reporting on the event, a department spokesperson said "going forward it is the department's intention to publish a minute of meetings between the IDSA and officials".
Catríona Heinl and Pat O'Connor have attended all three quarterly meetings on behalf of IDSA, with assistant secretary Murtagh and official James Ryan representing the Department.
Meanwhile IDSA co-founder Ben Tonra, a UCD academic who has appeared in media discussing defence policy without his role as a lobbyist for the arms industry being disclosed, attended the December 2024 meeting.
The Department of Defence and IDSA have been contacted for comment.
