Govt urged to support efforts to regulate arms trade

The Irish branch of Amnesty Ireland is calling on the Government to support an international campaign to draft a treaty regulating the global arms trade.

Amnesty, Oxfam and the International Network on Small Arms have mounted the campaign as the UN holds preliminary talks on the issue in New York today.

Amnesty Ireland said this country produced €240m worth of military goods and €23.7bn worth of so-called dual-use goods between 1997 and 2002.

Spokesman Jim Loughran said these dual-use goods included triggers for Tomahawk missiles, computer systems to control bomb-dropping equipment and firing mechanisms and communications systems for attack helicopters.

"This is equipment that can have a direct military relevance and Ireland is increasingly a significant player," he said.