There are only seven minutes remaining for this item.
Containment of Nuclear Weapons Bill 2000 [ Seanad ] : Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 18:
In page 10, line 13, to delete "may" and substitute "shall".
–(Deputy Ó Snodaigh).
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
Is there no added time?
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
No.
The amendment seeks to set out in a positive way that the Minister shall do certain things. These would be the minimum requirements – things that would happen within a set timescale. It is a positive amendment, which seeks to substitute the word "shall" for the word "may". The spirit of the House is that we wish all these matters to come into effect as quickly as possible. In principle, and certainly on this issue, we need to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and the legislation must give a basic direction to the Minister so that the enactment of the laws are not held up at the whim of a Minister, which is what the word "may" could imply.
It is a pity that my earlier amendment No. 4 was ruled out of order. If we had access to the committee Blacks I would have been able to understand fully the reason it was ruled out of order. It was tied to this amendment in that it sought to insert timeframes in the legislation but was not accepted. While I must accept that decision, it is a pity that the Blacks were not a available so that I might have been better able to formulate the wording of this amendment.
When the Bill was discussed on Second Stage in 2001, my party was denied the opportunity to speak to it. It is a pity we did not have a proper Second Stage debate when the new Dáil was elected. As well as asking the Minister of State to consider these positive elements, he should also consider introducing a package of Bills such as a military export control Bill and a nuclear free zone Bill. The people have expressed their opposition to the nuclear weapons industry. We all remember the demonstrations in the early 1970s at Carnsore Point. It is a pity the Minister of State has not done for Ireland what some local authorities have done, namely, to declare their areas nuclear free zones. We could have declared Ireland a nuclear free zone in the Bill without taking away from it.
The other issue, to which the Minister of State alluded, is that there is already legislation in place for dual use goods. However, it is not good enough because dual use military goods are still leaving the country. Many are used in nuclear weapons programmes and the nuclear industry. We must introduce adequate legislation to prevent this. We must also ensure there is not a proliferation of weapons, not only from the point of view of organisations which are a threat to the world but also from the point of view of other countries such as France, the United States and Britain. We must not encourage the nuclear weapons industry by supplying it with parts. We should take a lead in that regard because this is a small country which will hold the EU Presidency next year.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
The Deputy should speak to the amendment in the couple of minutes available to him.
That is the reason the provisions of the Bill must be implemented from the date it is enacted rather than leaving it vague or basing it on a ministerial whim. I hope the Minister of State accepts the amendment.
This is a black and white issue. The Bill states that "without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may (a) designate an authority to be the National Authority for the purposes of this Act in place of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland”. We have made it known that the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland will be the authority. However, we do not want to put ourselves in a strait-jacket because it may be necessary to support the institute from time to time. If we accept the Deputy's amendment, we “shall” designate the authority as a replacement for the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. We must have flexibility and discretion to support the institute which will be the designated authority.
I do not want to get drawn into a discussion on some of the other points made by the Deputy. He knows the procedure well. We do not have any control over Second Stage debates. Other new Deputies in the House could say the same. The ratification of this strengthened agreement is in line not only with Ireland's long-standing position on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation but also with our position on nuclear safety. That is totally unambiguous. As regards the regulations, I guarantee that they will be given effect rapidly.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
As the 45 minutes allocated to this debate have now expired, I am required to put the following question in accordance with an order of the Dáil of this day: "That the amendments set down by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and not disposed of are hereby made to the Bill, that Fourth Stage is hereby completed and that the Bill is hereby passed."
Question put and agreed to.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
As the Bill is considered by virtue of Article 20.2.2º of the Constitution to be a Bill initiated in the Dáil, it will be sent to the Seanad.