asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1) concerning visits of naval vessels to our ports from the United States of America, the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and France, if the Government has at any stage asked for guarantees in writing from the above nations, that their vessels were not carrying nuclear weapons and were not on military exercise, if so, the dates on which these guarantees were requested, and, if not, the reason; and (2) concerning the visits of naval vessels to our ports from the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and France, the written assurances which have been given to the Government by these nations that their vessels were not carrying nuclear weapons or were not on military exercise; and the dates on which these assurances were given.
Ceisteann—Questions. Oral Answers. - Military Naval Vessels.
The Government do not seek written guarantees or assurances of the type referred to by the Deputy.
When an application for a foreign naval vessel to visit an Irish port is received by my Department, we consult with the appropriate authorities to establish that the visit does not form part of a naval exercise and that the vessel is not carrying nuclear weapons. If, following these consultations, my Department are satisfied that the proposed visit complies with these criteria, then permission will normally be granted for the visit to take place. It is not the practice to disclose details of the verification procedures employed in this connection.
Will the Minister agree that it is now time to examine our procedures for checking out whether visiting naval vessels have nuclear warheads on board, having regard to the situation that exists? I accept that a system has operated here for a considerable period where we determine whether such vessels are part of a NATO military exercise. Will the Minister agree there is a growing demand for more to be done to see to it that vessels bearing nuclear arms should not be allowed to our ports?
That is one of the conditions we laid down, that vessels bearing nuclear arms are not allowed in. I gather the Deputy means that we should be able to verify for ourselves whether vessels are carrying such weapons. Given the attitude of the countries who possess nuclear weapons, we will not be given that information so the only alternative is to say that any vessels capable of carrying nuclear weapons will not be allowed to enter our ports. At the moment we are laying down our policy for these countries and we believe that when they know the criteria we lay down they will not send vessels containing weapons to our ports. We can certainly do what Deputy Collins says. We could change the rules to ensure that no vessel capable of carrying nuclear arms would be allowed into our ports but I am willing to accept the word of countries on both sides that they will not breach our regulations and I welcome contact with the sailors on these ships with our people.
Is the Minister as satisfied as he can be that visiting naval ships to our ports have always been free of nuclear arms?
I am as satisfied as I can be.
The Minister is aware that I have tabled a Private Members' Bill on this matter which seeks to give us the right to inspect these vessels. Would the Minister consider adopting a similar line?
We can certainly adopt such a line but the policy of the super power is not to release such information because they may give an advantage to the other side by knowing that that ship is carrying nuclear weapons. If we insisted that such information should be divulged these vessels would not visit the country. I am in favour of such visits and I accept the words of both nuclear powers that when we lay down conditions they will meet them, even though they may not publicly say so.
Is the Minister aware that assurances have often been given by super powers which turned out to be false?
I am aware of that but I would not like to believe that they would make false assurances to a friendly country.
The French did it to New Zealand.
I should like to see as much contact as possible between people of different backgrounds and nationalities. One way of doing so is by welcoming the ships of other navies and by accepting assurances in regard to not carrying nuclear weapons. I may be naive but that is my attitude.
The trouble is that we will only get one chance.
I accept that the Deputy is concerned because visits by foreign ships have increased in recent years.
It only takes one mistake.
We can always debate this fully on the Estimate for my Department.
I accept that, I am merely expressing concern.
From correspondence received. I know there is concern. It would be an enormous advantage to have a common view in relation to foreign policy and one of the ways to achieve this is to find out the individual concerns of Deputies without the restraint of a party Whip. I do not know if we will ever reach that position but it would be a great help to all concerned——
I suggested over the years that there should be more discussions on foreign affairs.
I would be quite willing to hold such discussions and I suggested in response to Deputy Collins that we should have a one-day debate in every session on foreign policy.
I will take that initiative shortly.
I will try to organise such a debate in the coming session.
We are moving to Priority Questions.