I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together.
The Government are concerned about the mining of waters around Nicaragua, which can only serve to exacerbate the already tense situation in the region and constitute a threat to the safety of shipping in international waters. I am glad that recent reports indicate that the mining operation may have ceased. Deputies will have noted the provisional decision by the International Court of Justice at The Hague on 10 May calling on the United States to cease and refrain from any action restricting access to Nicaraguan ports and in particular the laying of mines, calling for the sovereignty and political independence of Nicaragua to be fully respected and calling on the Governments of the United States and Nicaragua to ensure that no action of any kind is taken which might aggravate or extend the dispute submitted to the Court. The US State Department in response have said that nothing contained in the court's decision is inconsistent with US policies or activities.
All parties involved in the tragic situation in Central America are aware of the Government's views and concerns on the matter. They were most recently set out in an address by my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to a conference on Central America held in University College, Cork, on 27 April when he said that a solution to the problems of Central America must be political, not military, and that such a solution must be based on reform and moderation and on a strict application of the principles of non-interference and inviolability of frontiers.