Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Timmins, for introducing this legislation. Those who may be watching proceedings from outside the Chamber and who are not familiar with this campaign or issue may be wondering the reason Fine Gael has introduced this Bill before the House when many domestic issues need to be addressed. When people listen to what has been said, they will realise this is an important issue in the context of Ireland's foreign policy and our humanitarian and peacekeeping work.

Having read the Government amendment, I do not understand why the Minister for Foreign Affairs cannot accept this Bill with a view to amending it at a later stage if he deems it appropriate to do so. The Bill is timely because this House has an opportunity to provide leadership in advance of the conference in Croke Park at the end of May, when representatives from all over the world will meet to discuss the issue. I wish the Minister well in achieving the conference's goal of agreeing a text on an international convention banning the use of these weapons, which pose a particular threat to children. This evening presents us with an opportunity for Ireland to put legislation in place domestically to ensure companies based here in no way support, supply or profit from the cluster bomb industry.

The international campaign to ban cluster munitions has been proactive and it continues to gather pace and influence. In February 2007 an international meeting in Oslo set in motion the process of concluding by 2008 a legally binding international instrument that prohibits the use and stockpiling of cluster munitions and secures adequate care and rehabilitation for sufferers and clearance of contaminated areas. Initially, 46 states agreed to the Oslo declaration, followed by meetings in Lima in May 2006 and Vienna in December 2007 attended by 138 states. This February, a meeting in Wellington agreed to the Wellington declaration which reaffirmed the objectives set out in Oslo. We hope the Dublin conference, which will be held between 19 and 30 May, will be the final piece in the jigsaw of drafting the first international agreement on cluster munitions. The Minister might not be in his current job by the end of May but, if he is, it will be a significant achievement for Irish foreign policy if he reaches an agreement.

I spent three years in the European Parliament working on a variety of human rights issues. I compiled paragraphs for two annual human rights reports for the Parliament which called for a ban on cluster munitions and increased momentum towards an international arms trade treaty which would initially focus on small arms. The existing code of conduct for the sale of arms within the EU is not sufficient and needs to be made legally binding.

Since the 1950s cluster bombs have been used in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Chad, Iraq, Chechnya, Sudan and Kosovo. In 2006, up to 4 million cluster bombs were dropped in southern Lebanon. I recall the Israeli ambassador to the EU coming before a human rights sub-committee of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs in an attempt to justify the deployment of that quantity of cluster bombs on an area which will be contaminated for decades to come because of decisions taken at the end of the hostilities. The only excuse he could give was that the bombs were brightly coloured and therefore civilians and children in particular were unlikely to stand on them.

These are brutal, crude and indiscriminate weapons. They are not intended to target soldiers. Their purpose is clearing land and making it almost impossible for people to return to their homes following conflict. They are often used in bitter situations prior to the signing of military truces to inflict damage that lasts decades after the cessation of hostilities. They have no place in modern military operations and any defence of them needs to be strongly challenged. Confirmed casualties from cluster munitions exceed 13,000 but it is believed that figure is many times lower than the actual number of deaths and injuries because in many of the countries contaminated by them it has become impossible to get accurate records. Civilians comprise 98% of the casualties of cluster munitions. They are more lethal than landmines because it is at least possible to keep a record of where landmines have been deployed in order to facilitate the process of clearing minefields. Dropping a cluster bomb is like firing thousands of tennis balls in all directions from 100 feet above the ground. They land in such a variety of areas that it is almost impossible to clear them.

This is an area of foreign policy which Ireland should aggressively pursue in order to bring about an end to weapons which should have been discontinued many years ago. Unfortunately, they will continue to maim and kill children and their families for decades to come in areas which have already suffered enough from conflict.

See this speech in context