Vol. 402 No. 3
24 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the document lodged before Dáil Éireann in relation to the offer of the Soviet Union to transform its 12 months pause of Soviet nuclear tests into a permanent one; if the Government have made a response or intend to make one; and if he will indicate the content of such response.
I am aware of the document to which the Deputy refers in which the USSR Supreme Soviet launched an appeal to Parliaments and Peoples of the World and emphasized that the Soviet Union was prepared to extend indefinitely its 12 month pause in nuclear testing. The Supreme Soviet indicated, however, that this offer was conditional on the US Government discontinuing its own nuclear testing programme.
Recently the United States has made it clear at the United Nations General Assembly that they continue to believe in the need for a US nuclear test programme. We have learned subsequently that the USSR has now resumed its underground nuclear testing, thus ending its unilateral pause in nuclear testing, with obvious consequences for the offer contained in the Appeal of the Supreme Soviet.
The Government believe that a total prohibition on nuclear testing should be the first step in halting the nuclear arms race. In that context we have called for a complete moratorium on nuclear testing and we have repeatedly called for the immediate negotiation of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. We have noted some recent positive developments, including the agreement between USA and USSR on ratification of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty. For our own part we shall continue to work, in multilateral fora such as the United Nations, and in our bilateral contacts to promote the achievement of an end to all nuclear testing.
