Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

As the House will recall, I introduced a new Part 4 of the Bill by way of amendment on Committee Stage. That new part puts in place a clear legislative framework providing that any statutory investment mandate is qualified by requirement to exclude investments in the manufacturers of cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines. Part 4 sets down the requirement to avoid initial investments of public moneys, directly or indirectly, in manufacturers of prohibited munitions. It also sets out clear requirements and guidelines for dealing with these circumstances, where such investments occur despite best efforts to avoid them.

Deputy Timmins proposes that a register of prohibited investments be published. He suggested on Committee Stage that those charged with investing public moneys in assessing their own investments would work off some such list. However, the Minister for Finance advises me that such a list will not be compiled by those investing public moneys. Instead, in practice, as part of a standard due diligence with regard to any prospective investment, an investor of public moneys must satisfy him or herself on the basis of investigation and research that the company concerned and its subsidiaries do not engage in the manufacture of or trade in cluster munitions or anti-personnel mines.

As I indicated on Committee Stage, the production of a register is likely to engage considerable human and financial resources. Moreover, it is unlikely ever to be exhaustive or complete and inevitably will not be a reliable tool for investors. The best means of ensuring that companies around the world stop making these weapons is to promote ratification of the convention by more of the countries in which they operate. Also, those investing public moneys must do the due diligence exercise and investigate appropriately.

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