Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Controlled Product Exports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 June 2012

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Ceisteanna (6)

Mick Wallace

Ceist:

6Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the information that will be made available to the public in relation to the end use of controlled products exported from here; his views regarding the human rights records of some of the countries to which these goods are exported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27303/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (5 píosaí cainte)

In accordance with national and EU legislation, my Department is responsible for issuing licenses for exports of dual use items outside the EU, certain military products both within and outside the EU and for implementing EU trade sanctions. The first report on the operation of the Control of Exports Act 2008 was published in September 2011. One of the most significant aspects of this report is information on the new public access to data on licence applications, the value of licensed goods to be exported and their destination as well as licence denials. This is valuable information for the wide range of stakeholders that rightly expect increasing transparency in the operation of export controls.

At the time the annual report was published I made a commitment to publish on the Department's website every six months summary information about export control licences issued. Summary data in respect of 2011 is on the website and data covering the first six months of 2012 will be put up shortly after the end of June. I can assure the Deputy that human rights and foreign policy concerns are central considerations in the examination of export licence applications. Prior to issuing any export licence for goods intended for a country where there is civil or military unrest, my Department consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This consultation process forms an essential and integral part of the decision making process for any export licence applications. It involves detailed consideration of any human rights implications connected with a possible export.

Human rights are, and have always been, a priority of successive Irish Governments and a cornerstone of our foreign policy. The importance of human rights in the application of export control is reinforced by Article 12 of the dual use regulations. This provides that member states take into account the EU Council's common position defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment. This includes respect for human rights in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country of international humanitarian law.

The first report under the Control of Exports Act 2008 identifies for both dual use and military goods the numbers of individual licenses issued for each country of destination, the product category to which they relate and a band of values related to issued licences. I will keep under review the possibility of providing additional information but I have to take into account the fact that licence applications involve my Department receiving commercially sensitive product information from a large number of exporters. All exporters have a legitimate expectation that this information will be treated in confidence.

I thank the Minister for his reply. The first report indicated that Ireland had authorised €90 million of equipment for ammunition and arms use, including gun and weapon sensors, between 2008 and 2010, and that €10.6 billion of dual use product licences were also authorised. In that period we gave licences for sales to countries including Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Most of the contracts involved Britain, the US, Germany and China.

The Minister indicated that reports would be published every six months and from speaking with representatives of Amnesty International, it seems that group is pretty keen for more information to come available in future, and that there would be a greater effort towards achieving transparency. When will the annual report for 2011 due under the Control of Exports Act 2008 be published and will it contain detail not included in the annual report documentation covering 2008 to 2010? Will it contain information on values of actual rather than licensed exports and on end use? We are trying to get on the UN human rights committee, which is important, and it would be good for us to show more transparency.

As I indicated, I will look at the issue. There is quite a bit of transparency in the existing document and, for example, it shows the military licences by destination. None of the countries to which the Deputy referred is on that list. There is quite a bit of information on the different types of products, setting out the criteria used which are pretty robust. The document details all the UN sanctions, respect for international humanitarian law, attitude towards terrorism and the nature of alliances. The criteria used are very clear, and denials are detailed where they have occurred. It complies with the various requirements of EU regulations where dual products are involved.

I am content that the system is robust and I will consider the extent to which we can provide more information. I will revert to the Deputy on a date for publication of the 2011 report, which will go into the level of detail I outlined. We have published the overall figures for 2011, including the number and value of licences in the three broad categories.

Will it include the information on end users and end use?

Each licence is different. Some specify the end user where there is a high level of concern. Some licences are more global, and the country rather than the specific end user is specified. We go into that level of detail to assure ourselves that a dual use product will not go to a country where there is high risk to an end user or if we have questions about the process. There is a level of policing in the system but we do not publish that level of detail.

Barr
Roinn