Dáil debates

Thursday, 21 March 2024

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Defence Forces

9:40 am

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is good that the Tánaiste has reservations, but reservations do not lead to the suspension of all trade with Israel and, in particular, any trade from Ireland to Israel in the form of dual-use goods. In the case of this question, it is to do with trade between us and Israeli companies where defence companies, such as Aeronautics Defense Systems, the company we bought from which the UAVs, or Elbit Systems, from which the State has previously bought surveillance and target acquisition suites for armoured vehicles that are being used by the Defence Forces in Lebanon. That is a bit strange, given there is a maintenance component to that. In maintenance, equipment is serviced, meaning the electrical and computer components have to be interrogated, which is where the UAV information comes from. Ireland needs to suspend all such trade and we also need to campaign in the EU and the UN for all such trade to be suspended, whether that is the EU-MED agreement or otherwise, especially in the case of defence contracts.

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