Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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I would have liked Deputy O'Reilly to have kept her amendment down because I would have voted for it. I will take this opportunity to register some issues and concerns about the Bill. I noted the comments of Jan Pie, head of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, who last November stated, "I would like to congratulate Ireland for the increased interest on the defence side towards the EU and the EDF [European Defence Fund]". Despite the way it is couched in terms of defence, and who can be opposed to defence, what is being indicated there is that this State and companies within this State are beginning to play an increased role in the international arms race we see unfolding before us. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has noted that even though the perception is that Ireland does not have a defence industry, in terms of the contribution many Irish companies make as regards dual-use goods, we have an extraordinary capacity in this country. I think the Minister is underlining, from the Government and State's point of view, the importance of dual-use goods regarding this.

I will not go down through all the details I have in my paper in front of me here in terms of dual-use goods but I will just cite two as examples. In a two-year-old statistic from 2021, it was noted that since 2011, Ireland had exported €6.5 million worth of military or dual-use hardware to Israel. What is that military or dual-use hardware used for? We have seen the scenes on our television screens of the deaths and injuries that have rained down on Palestinian people. Can we be given a guarantee that material exported from Ireland to that state is not used in that regard? It is, in part, clear, direct military hardware.

My eyes are also drawn to a note I have to hand stating there are 25 dual-use licences for export to Egypt, including one military-grade contract worth €112,000, the category of which is bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, other explosive devices and chargers, related equipment and accessories, and specially designed components therefor. What is Ireland doing exporting military-grade material to a dictatorship that has blood on its hands? I felt that Deputy O'Reilly's amendments did not go far enough but I thought they were useful and intended to vote for them. They have been withdrawn now, and we are where we are. If I do not have the opportunity to vote for them I will be registering my opposition, and I think I would have been doing this in any case, to the Bill because essentially this industry is something to which I am fundamentally opposed.