A LAW THAT currently requires the Government to give approval before the IDA and Enterprise Ireland can assist Irish SMEs who may be involved in the defence sector is to be scrapped by the Minister for Enterprise. 

Minister Peter Burke will seek approval to amend the law this morning at Cabinet.

The Enterprise Minister is proposing to delete s.8(5) of the Science & Technology Act 1987, which currently requires the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to secure Government approval prior to engaging or supporting Irish SMEs who may be involved in the defence sector.

A Government source said Section 8(5) is “an outdated constraint that no longer fits today’s economic and technological landscape, where there is a close overlap between defence and dual-use projects in areas such as cybersecurity, AI, space systems and advanced materials and where Irish companies have built up expertise in highly technical areas over the past number of decades”.

It’s understood that the law change is part of a bid to ensure that Irish firms do not lose out on funding opportunities, such as the €409bn European Competitiveness Fund, which will be available from 2028.

“Governments across the EU have committed to increasing spending on defence significantly, including the Irish Government, so there will be opportunities for Irish SMEs to be involved in this as a result of the measures that Minister Burke will ask ministers to approve on Tuesday,” the source said.

“Crucially, it does not change or impact our defence policy, which stays entirely as a national competence,” they added.

Office of the Planning Regulator

Separately, Housing Minister James Browne will seek Cabinet approval today for a review of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) to be conducted. 

The OPR, which was set up in 2019, works alongside An Coimisiún Pleanála and is responsible for the evaluation of statutory plans, planning reviews, and education, training and research.

The review will consider the relevance of the original purpose of the office to the planning system and structures in Ireland today as well as the extent to which change may be needed to help enable the delivery of housing and critical infrastructure. 

It is understood that it is intended that this review, which comes amid increasing focus on the zoning of land by local authorities, will determine the future role of the Office of the Planning Regulator.