asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the procedures, if any, to ensure that foreign naval vessels visiting Irish ports are not carrying nuclear weapons.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Transportation of Nuclear Weapons.
31.
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 from part of a naval exercise and that the vessel is not carrying nuclear weapons. If, following these cosultations, my Department is 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.
Would the Minister agree that visits by foreign naval vessels have greatly increased in the last four years and that some of these have, for the first time, a nuclear weapon capacity? Does the Minister's Department obtain definite assurances that vessels visiting Irish ports are not carrying nuclear weapons? Would the Minister consider that any ship with the capacity to carry nuclear weapons should not be given permission to enter Irish ports or harbours?
I am not sure that the statistic quoted by the Deputy is correct, but in so far as it is correct, I welcome people from foreign countries. We do lay down criteria, if they are naval vessels, by which they must abide if they want to visit our ports. One of those is that even thought they may have nuclear capacity they do not carry nuclear weapons. I am satisfied that the countries who sought permission to enter our ports in the last five years are abiding by that condition.
That concludes Question Time.