Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department is responsible for controls on the export of military items from Ireland. Under Irish law, military export licences have to be sought in respect of the goods and technology, and any components thereof, listed in the annex to the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order, SI 216 of 2012, which reflects the EU common military list. The EU common military list includes military goods and technology and components for such items that should be licensed for export from the Union. Items which are classified as "military goods" from an export control perspective and are exported from Ireland involve components rather than military equipment. Components licensed for export by my Department are generally exported to manufacturers and systems integrators before being sent to the final end users. The Department consults the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in respect of all military export licence applications. All such applications are subject to rigorous scrutiny and are considered in the light of the spirit and objectives of the 1998 EU code of conduct on arms exports. This code, which was subsequently adopted in 2008 as an EU Common Position, seeks to safeguard regional stability and human rights, among other concerns.

Eleven licences for the export of military list items to Israel have been issued since 2011. No licences for the export of military list products to Israel have been granted since the end of the first quarter of 2014. All applications received for the export of military list items to Israel are carefully assessed on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the end use and the end user and against well-established criteria. Observations would be sought from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on any proposed export.

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