Thomas P. Broughan
Ceist:107 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will convey the dismay of the Irish Government at the imminent resumption of underground nuclear testing to the British Foreign Secretary.
Written Answers. - Underground Nuclear Testing.
As I made clear in reply to a question on the same subject on 26 May 1993, the Government believes that nuclear tests are unnecessary for military purposes, environmentally unacceptable, and harmful to the prevention of the spread of nuclear weapons, as set out in the preamble to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Both Britain and the United States are aware of Ireland's views on the question of nuclear testing. Last year, the Government welcomed the steps taken by the United States towards limiting nuclear testing. Since both the US and Britain use the same testing site in Nevada, this has also precluded Britain from carrying out nuclear tests. These steps, following similar ones by the Russian Federation and France, appeared to represent significant progress towards the cessation of nuclear testing. At the same time, Ireland made clear, at the United Nations, that we regarded further progress in this area as necessary if the process of nuclear disarmament is to be made irreversible. We also made clear our belief that the issue of a comprehensive test ban treaty should continue to be actively addressed.
A resumption of nuclear testing carries risks for the international non-proliferation regime as a whole, at a time when negotiations leading to the extension of the NPT, which is due for renewal in 1995, have commenced. I hope that the nuclear powers will consider very carefully all these aspects before any decisions on ending their current moratoria are taken.