Arms export probe admits gaps in control system

THE FIRST stage of a Government review into Ireland’s military exports has acknowledged for the first time there are gaps in the control system.

The review published yesterday follows increased criticism of the lack of transparency in military-related exports from Ireland.

Concerns were also expressed last year after the Irish Examiner revealed the Galway Hewlett Packard facility did not require a dual use licence, despite being heavily involved with software development for US and French nuclear weapons programmes.

Figures show that Irish firms exported €34 million worth of military equipment last year to states such as Vietnam, Turkey, South Africa and Macedonia

Exports of dual-use equipment which can have a military use topped € 4.5 billion last year.

Amnesty International, which has been critical of the Government’s control over military and dual use exports, last night welcomed the report as a first step in the right direction.

However, Amnesty’s Jim Loughran warned that the report now had to be acted on. “I would call on the Government to take the recommendations seriously and make a firm commitment to implementing them,” he said.

The report, carried out by Fitzpatrick Associates for the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment identifies areas which need improvements and admits for the first time Ireland’s role in the arms trade.

Recommendations which will now be considered in the second phase of the Government’s review include:

l The need to establish the extent of the production and exports of military and dual-use equipment in Ireland.

l The comparison of the Irish control system with that in other countries, with particular focus on potential difficulties and gaps identified.

l The formation of practical steps to improve the system.

A report by Amnesty International highlighted more than 60 Irish-based firms which manufactured or distributed military, security or police products between 1980 and 2001.