Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy, even though I am only in the Department for a couple of weeks, that, working with the Minister, Deputy Burke, we are sure and we have very strong controls in place. As part of their assessment, my officials seek the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of all applications for export licences, including those with the end destination of Israel. Both my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs review all dual-use export licence applications against the eight assessment criteria set out in the Council common position.

If there are any concerns that the goods exported will not be used for the end use or by the specified end user as detailed in the application or if the exporter does not provide enough information on the intended end-use for my officials to make an informed decision, the application for a licence is denied. In applying any export controls in a robust and transparent way, my Department ensures that legitimate business transactions by reputable Irish traders are not damaged in any way while also ensuring that exports of controlled goods are thoroughly risk-assessed in that context of ongoing conflicts, diversion of goods and humanitarian considerations.

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