Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

Does the Minister agree that there has been an erosion of the main tenets of the non-proliferation treaty which could lead to a cascade of proliferation? These are not my words but those of a United Nations report published in 2004. Double standards and sickening hypocrisy are evident with regard to the non-proliferation treaty. Different standards are applied to Iran as are applied to India, Israel and Pakistan. Surely it is time for uniformity in global standards on non-proliferation because without it nuclear weapons will inevitably get into the hands of terrorists who will hold democratically elected governments to ransom. This is not a comic book scenario but a realistic proposition in the event that we do not get our act together. Waiting until 2010 to hold another round-table conference with no guarantees of success will mean we are too late. Ireland has a moral right to exert pressure on this matter because, as the Minister agrees, we were the architects of the non-proliferation treaty.

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