Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No one is turning a blind eye to anything. There is a European Union Common Position in respect of the export from all the member states of equipment for military purposes. The armaments companies in the European Union must comply with one of the strictest export control regimes in the world. There are eight separate criteria. They take into account the effect that any arms transfer could have on the country of final destination. The factors assessed include the human rights situation on the ground, the existence of tensions or armed conflict, the preservation of regional peace, the question of whether the export could affect sustainable development of the importing state, the risk of exported military technology or equipment being diverted within the buyer country or re-exported under undesirable conditions. The operation of that Common Position is kept under constant review by member states in light of changing circumstances and individual buyer countries. Ireland strongly supports the Common Position and we expect it to be fully implemented by all member states. I assure Deputies that, in our discussions with our EU partners, I will continue to make that position clear. The Common Position applies to all member states. When the EU has agreed a Common Position, all member states ought to comply with it.

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