Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

In accordance with national and EU legislation, my Department is responsible for issuing licenses for exports of dual use items outside the EU, certain military products both within and outside the EU and for implementing EU trade sanctions. The first report on the operation of the Control of Exports Act 2008 was published in September 2011. One of the most significant aspects of this report is information on the new public access to data on licence applications, the value of licensed goods to be exported and their destination as well as licence denials. This is valuable information for the wide range of stakeholders that rightly expect increasing transparency in the operation of export controls.

At the time the annual report was published I made a commitment to publish on the Department's website every six months summary information about export control licences issued. Summary data in respect of 2011 is on the website and data covering the first six months of 2012 will be put up shortly after the end of June. I can assure the Deputy that human rights and foreign policy concerns are central considerations in the examination of export licence applications. Prior to issuing any export licence for goods intended for a country where there is civil or military unrest, my Department consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This consultation process forms an essential and integral part of the decision making process for any export licence applications. It involves detailed consideration of any human rights implications connected with a possible export.

Human rights are, and have always been, a priority of successive Irish Governments and a cornerstone of our foreign policy. The importance of human rights in the application of export control is reinforced by Article 12 of the dual use regulations. This provides that member states take into account the EU Council's common position defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment. This includes respect for human rights in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country of international humanitarian law.

The first report under the Control of Exports Act 2008 identifies for both dual use and military goods the numbers of individual licenses issued for each country of destination, the product category to which they relate and a band of values related to issued licences. I will keep under review the possibility of providing additional information but I have to take into account the fact that licence applications involve my Department receiving commercially sensitive product information from a large number of exporters. All exporters have a legitimate expectation that this information will be treated in confidence.

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