John Dennehy (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I too welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the Bill. Much of the content of the Bill and of what is involved in its implementation is highly technical, but that should not stop us from commenting on the general principles involved. There will be little public interest in the content of the Bill, despite the fact the topic is important to the world at large. I agree with the Minister's statement that it is extremely unlikely that the Act will ever be called into play in Ireland.

A year after the 20-year commemoration of the world's worst ever nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, after various other disasters mentioned by Members and in the current climate of the North Korean nuclear test, the issue of nuclear weapons is clearly an ever-present and more complicated issue. The Three Mile Island accident and incidents at Sellafield which have been mentioned illustrate the danger involved with nuclear power. We must accept that a serious accident at a nuclear station has the power to do catastrophic harm to people and the environment. Human and-or mechanical error could result in an accident killing several thousand people, harming hundreds of thousands in the long term, contaminating large areas of land and costing billions of euro. It will be too late to discuss the issue after such an event.

All Members of the Oireachtas will agree that we should have total nuclear disarmament and a ban on nuclear testing. The least we can do is give a clear indication of our wishes by going ahead with the implementation of our legislation to put the ban into effect. The ban will enshrine in legislation the nuclear test ban treaty adopted by the UN in 1996. The treaty was open for signature in 1999, but it has yet to come into force. As already mentioned, some 176 countries have signed the treaty and 135 have ratified it.

It should be a matter of concern to us that the international approach to the issue has taken ten years to reach this point. There were various attempts in 1963 and since 1968 to get some control over additional nuclear weapons. This treaty, which tries to ban nuclear tests entirely, is part of the same process. Those of us looking in from the outside are entitled to question the commitment of some of the countries in the process, particularly those that have not signed up to it. The USA has been mentioned in this regard. Nevertheless, we should pay due recognition to the efforts of the US and the Soviet states for the programme they carried out of dismantling or decommissioning a significant stockpile of nuclear weapons. We should remember this.

We are also entitled to question how seriously we in Ireland take the issue. During discussions last week in the Chamber, at least one Member thought it was an item to joke about. We often only see the serious side of the issue when things go wrong. That is when we seriously appreciate the potential danger of nuclear power. Things are going wrong in a number of countries. It is important that if any our Ministers or other representatives try to use their position to dissuade a country such as North Korea from carrying out tests and are asked whether we fully support the ban, they can give a positive answer. If we want to be effective, we would be cheeky and foolish to be in the reverse situation. It is right and proper to put the legislation through the House now. In doing so we are not conducting a time-wasting exercise as was suggested last week.

The major part of the discussion on the nuclear ban issue relates to who is seen as the aggressor. Deciding who are the aggressors is a matter of perspective. The bottom line is that in the event of a nuclear battle, it will make little difference whether one supports the United States, Israel, India, Pakistan or North Korea. The effect will be equally devastating for everyone.

It is imperative that the US is persuaded to ratify the treaty. It is little use for the US to call on North Korea to refrain from tests if the US itself does not sign up to it. In that context, while Ireland may be viewed as a small player on the world stage, we have a relatively powerful voice for change. As a nation we must continue to stress the need for co-operative efforts to ensure the continuing march towards nuclear disarmament and should be loud in our condemnation of all nuclear nesting, whether in the East or West. In order to use our voice to greatest effect, we should have our house in order. Instead of having a laugh about dealing with the issue now, we should be embarrassed for not having dealt with it long before now.

A section in the Bill states an Irish citizen carrying out such an explosion outside the State will also be guilty of an offence. How can this be implemented? If, for example, an Irish person gets a job in North Korea and is involved in nuclear testing, how can we prevent this or enforce the legislation? I appreciate Britain has its own rules, but the legislation is ideal for an all-island approach as is appropriate to all issues of this nature. I support the Bill and hope it will go through the House speedily.

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