Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Last September, when Dr. Blix appeared before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, he indicated his view that there did not seem to be an obstacle in the NPT to this particular deal. I am fully conscious of what the House feels about this matter but at the end of the day I must go along with the strong advice from experts in my Department who are centrally involved on a day-to-day basis. To a certain extent, Ireland is making a nuisance of itself on this deal. That was exemplified by a recent report in a German paper which stated the Irish representative on this body was asking the most pertinent questions and was trying to tease out why there are so many nuances concerning the deal. Why are some countries, which would normally be vehemently against this type of deal, coming out in favour of it?

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