Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

When the US-India civil nuclear co-operation deal was originally agreed in principle between President Bush and Prime Minister Singh in 2005, and during the lengthy and complex process which followed, Ireland was to the fore in raising concerns and asking questions in regard to its impact on the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime. However, we noted that the deal would extend the scope of IAEA safeguards over Indian nuclear facilities, and also made clear that we understood the strong reasons which led the Indian Government to seek a secure and plentiful supply of energy to address poverty, promote development and combat climate change. It was the consistent policy of the Government, reiterated several times in this House by my predecessor, not to make any final decision until all elements were on the table. We also made clear that we would take into account the range of views among other Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG, members, in particular those with a similar approach to disarmament and non-proliferation issues.

After a lengthy delay due to domestic Indian political factors, the issue finally came to a head in the late summer, with meetings of the IAEA board of governors on 1 August and of the NSG on 21 to 22 August and 4 to 6 September. At the NSG, Ireland, which played a leading role among a group of like-minded countries, was active from the outset in seeking clarifications and conveying concerns about the proposed exemption of India from the NSG's guidelines on civilian nuclear trade. We put forward an extensive series of proposals aimed at improving the text and meeting our concerns. During this period, we had extensive contacts inside and outside the NSG at both political and official level with the United States, India and numerous other states. It became increasingly clear that a large majority of NSG member states, including several countries whose concerns are usually similar to those of Ireland, were in favour of granting the exemption. I recall that the Nobel Prize-winning director general of the IAEA, Dr. ElBaradei, also strongly supported the deal.

On 5 September, in response to demands within the NSG from Ireland and a few other states, India issued a significant statement reiterating its key positions on disarmament and non-proliferation. These include a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and strong safeguards against nuclear proliferation in third countries. On this basis, and following a number of further changes to the text of the NSG decision, Ireland reluctantly joined the consensus in the NSG on 6 September. Ireland and several other states made it clear that we expect India to honour all of its commitments, and that any breach of them would require the NSG to review its decision. We will continue to work to strengthen the non-proliferation treaty in the lead-up to the next review conference in 2010.

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