asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if his attention has been drawn to reports concerning a letter dated 14 January from the Minister for Industry and Commerce to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs which referred to the Government's decision to proceed with the agreement with the US Department of Defence in relation to recognition of military standards and specifications; if any such letter was written; if any such agreement was made with the US Department of Defence; if he will give details of any such agreement to the Dáil; the implications of any such agreement for Irish neutrality; and if he will make a statement of the matter.
Written Answers. - Military Standards and Specifications.
413.
I am aware that the then Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, Deputy John Kelly, wrote to the then Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, Deputy Paddy Cooney, about the proposed takeover of Telectron by AT & T in which Deputy Kelly referred to the prospective agreement between the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards (IIRS) and the US Department of Defence in relation to recognition of standards and specifications which would ease access of Irish manufactured products to the US market.
With the growth of the electronic industry in Ireland in the seventies, it became necessary, in advance of the establishment of Irish national standards, to find an interim solution so as to ensure access for Irish products to other countries. To this end negotiations were initiated by the IIRS in 1979 with the US Department of Defence (which in the United States is the body that sets these standards), with a view to the adoption of common technical specifications and certification procedures.
The negotiations extended over some years and on 8 June 1981, shortly before the general election of that year, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, acting on behalf of the then Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism, circulated a draft memorandum to Departments proposing that Government approval be given for the continuation of the negotiation of this technical agreement. This memorandum was approved by the subsequent Government on 1 December 1981 and the agreement was signed by the IIRS on 8 March, 1983.
The agreement is of an administrative and technical character and does not involve any defence or military commitments.
In essence the agreement is a safeguard to jobs in Irish industry, particularly in the advanced technological area.