Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent joint training in peace-keeping methods has taken place involving the armed forces of the United Kingdom and those of the Republic of Ireland.

At present the UK and the Irish Defence Force cooperate in a limted number of activities, including the UK's support to the EU training mission in Mali and the UK's efforts to counter Ebola in Sierra Leone. However, the Memorandum of Understanding signed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and his Irish counterpart on 19 January 2015 contains provisions for greater co-operation in training, as a result of which we hope to see UK/Irish training expanded in the future, including in the area of peacekeeping.