Executive Summary Defence remains of paramount importance to this State and, as a vital element of overall security policy, provides the bedrock of stability and prosperity across political, social, economic and environmental domains. The White Paper on Defence was approved by Government in July 2015 and provides the strategic and comprehensive defence policy framework for the period up to 2025. It was developed following a lengthy consultation process that involved extensive stakeholder consultation. While ultimately approved by Government, and reflective of the fact that a range of government departments and state agencies have primary responsibilities when it comes to the security of the State and its citizens, development of the White Paper was led by the Minister for Defence, supported by a high-level civil-military Steering Group. One of the most significant commitments made by Government in the White Paper is to ensure that defence policy remains up to date and to bring certainty and regularity to the process of defence planning and overall preparedness. This is being achieved through the introduction of a new fixed cycle of defence reviews, to be carried out every three years. The first such review is this White Paper Update, with the next iteration under the cycle being a more comprehensive Strategic Defence Review. The White Paper specifies that these reviews are to encompass a fully updated assessment of the security environment and a fresh consideration of implications for overall policy requirements, associated tasks, capability development and resourcing. Into the future, the fixed cycle reviews will be integrated with the security assessments undertaken by the newly established National Security Analysis Centre. The hallmarks of Defence policy will continue to be: - a policy of active military neutrality; - a highly engaged and participative approach internationally, particularly through the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU); 1