Vol. 322 No. 5
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland is seeking membership of the Security Council of the United Nations; and, if so, if he will indicate whether Ireland will continue to pursue its policy of neutrality should it become a member of the Security Council.
44.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the prospects of Ireland's becoming a member of the Security Council to one of the seats vacated by either Norway or Portugal, both of whom are members of NATO, is conditional on Ireland softening its policy of neutrality in relation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and related military security matters.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 44 together.
As Deputies may be aware, ten of the 15 seats on the United Nations Security Council are filled by election from the general membership of the UN for periods of two years at a time. Under present arrangements, two of these seats are held by states belonging to the Western European and others (WEO) Group; both of these fall vacant at the end of this year. We have indicated our intention to seek election at this autumn's General Assembly to one of these seats for the period 1981-82.
It is our hope that the WEO Group may be able to reach agreement to endorse two candidates, including Ireland, for the two seats. In the event of endorsement, candidates are normally elected as a matter of course by the General Assembly. Agreement within the group is, however, far from certain; in its absence, there would be an open election in which the candidates seek support from all UN member states.
In the event of Ireland's becoming a member of the Security Council we would continue to approach foreign policy issues on the same lines as we do now. In particular, Ireland's election to the Security Council would not mean any change in our policy in regard to military alliances. Elected members of the council come from all regional groups and reflect different tendencies in international affairs. The WEO seats on the Security Council have frequently been held by states that are not members of NATO, for example Australia, Finland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.
