Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Germany has, for historical reasons, a particularly strong commitment to the security of Israel. The Israeli navy operates three submarines bought from Germany, with a further two understood to be under construction. The report in Der Spiegel alleges that these submarines have been adapted to carry nuclear armed missiles. The Government has no means of assessing the truth of these allegations. Israel, of course, has consistently refused either to confirm or to deny that it possesses nuclear weapons. EU member states operate one of the strictest export control regimes for military equipment anywhere in the world, using a set of criteria set out in a 2008 Common Position. Each member state is responsible for adhering to these rules, and I expect them to do so.

Ireland strongly supports, and is working to advance, UN efforts to achieve a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. A major conference on this objective is due to take place in December in follow-up to the resolution agreed, and in the negotiation of which Ireland played a prominent role, at the 2010 NPT review conference. I hope very much that this can become a reality and that no Middle Eastern state will retain such weapons.

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