Legislation urged to halt contribution to arms trade

OUR secretive trade in manufactured or assembled goods that can be used for military purposes may be worth more than €4 billion a year.

As in other countries, no official trade data on production of such exports exist here because military goods involve components rather than finished goods.

Independent consultants who probed our export licensing system on behalf of Forfás are now urging legislation to be introduced to plug “gaps” in the existing controls.

The report says there is a need for more proactivity in relation to sectors where there may be a chemical or biological product being traded outside the EU.

And the experts say Amnesty International’s proposal that cattle prods be placed on the list of controlled military items “appears to be reasonable”, given their potential use as torture instruments.

The review was undertaken by economic consultants Fitzpatrick Associates with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

About five exporters apply for military licences in any one year; for dual-use exporters the figure is about 25.

In 2001, Amnesty International estimated there were over 70 companies engaged in arms and security-related activities in Ireland.

The vast majority of Irish export licences for goods valued up to €4bn annually generally relate to licences which involve civilian end-users or end-uses. In recent years, the value of actual commercial military (as opposed to dual-use) exports is estimated at €10 million to €20m a year.

Publishing the review yesterday, Tánaiste Mary Harney said: “In the present international climate it is important that all countries behave responsibly in regard to the sale of products which are military in nature or may have military applications.”

She added: “Ireland is a long-standing proponent of non-proliferation of weapons and as such is committed to meeting all international, legal and political commitments to control and monitor relevant exports from Ireland.

“I welcome the independent review just completed which proposes a number of ways in which Ireland can continue to modernise and strengthen its export licensing controls so as to ensure full compliance with international obligations.”

The review noted that in the modern globalised economy, controls on international trade are rare and control by countries on their own exports are very exceptional.

The prominent exception is in the area of military and dual-use goods where there are established international agreements and procedures to ensure exports do not go to undesirable end-users.