Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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9. To ask the Minister for Defence the assurances he will provide that the Defence Forces public procurement policy excludes companies which have been linked to violations of international law, in view of previous contracts with a company (details supplied). [41265/14]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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In the lifetime of this Government, although not under the Minister's watch, just short of €3 million of taxpayers' money was spent on security contracts with the Israeli company, Elbit Systems, which has been found guilty of violating international law. Now that the Minister is Minister for Defence, will he give us an assurance that the public procurement policy of the Defence Forces will include a ban on any dealings with companies found in violation of international law?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have previously outlined the position in regard to the procurement of defensive equipment by the Department of Defence. I have also explained the scale and type of such equipment the Department has acquired from Israeli companies in recent years and the purpose of such acquisitions, which is to afford the greatest possible force protection to Irish troops.

The matter of barring Israeli companies from entering tender competitions for the provision of military goods would be akin to Ireland unilaterally placing an embargo on such goods from Israel and this raises serious implications for Irish foreign policy which are outside the remit of my Department. As the Deputy is aware, trade policy and market access are largely EU competencies and any restriction or ban on imports from any particular country would have to be concerted at EU level. The manner in which the Department of Defence procures goods and services remains constant with international best practice and is in line with EU and UN decisions on trade embargoes. I am satisfied that this is the appropriate way in which to continue rather than Ireland taking any unilateral decision to target individual companies or countries in that respect.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The Minister outlined previously what was bought, what it was used for and under what procurement policies it was bought but that was not really the question he was asked to deal with, as I am aware of all of those things. The question being posed here is that when companies engage in unlawful practices and we do business with them, then we are facilitating that. While there might be procurement policies, it is also the case that many of the Minister's international peers, recognising this injustice, have taken positive action to ensure they do not have dealings with companies which violate international law, as all of those operating in the settlements do. I am thinking, for example, of the British Government which has an overseas business risk policy that outlines and tries to encourage people not to deal with the settlements. The Dutch Government has been actively involved in providing advice to companies not to deal with the settlements while the Norwegian Ministry of Finance prevented pension funds' money from going into this system for the same reason.

The Minister can take proactive action. It is not unilateral action. The Minister had no problem signing us up to sanctions against Russia, which affected Irish farmers, but he does not seem to have any difficulty standing by while women and children are massacred in Gaza. We can take positive action in these matters.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Is the Deputy suggesting we should not have taken the foreign policy decisions we took in regard to Russia?

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The Minister spoke about unilateral actions and said that he had a problem with-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We have not taken unilateral action in regard to Russia. We are part of an EU decision to impose sanctions because of what has been happening in eastern Ukraine. It is not unilateral action. None of the examples the Deputy outlined in Britain, Norway and the Netherlands involve an embargo being imposed by a government on individual companies or on Israel, as a country. They are examples of countries trying to use pressure points to get change.

Ireland has made strong statements on much of what has happened in Israel and Gaza in recent months and we will continue to do so because we have a strong Government position on those issues. However, what the Deputy is asking me to do is effectively to blacklist companies because of a policy position or a view on those companies. What I am saying is that Ireland generally makes decisions as part of a collective within the EU or the UN in regard to sanctions or embargoes on the basis of a recommendation at multilateral level rather than a unilateral level.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The point I was making was that the Minister supported an embargo in regard to Russia but is not, in any way, advocating a similar action be taken against Israel. The question did not relate to all Israeli companies but specifically to those which violated international law and those involved in illegal Israeli settlements, which is a slightly different thing. The Norwegian Government took direct action.

I am not asking the Minister to deal with public procurement policy, as that is not his ministerial brief, but he is responsible for how the Defence Forces spend taxpayers' money. Is he prepared to stand over a situation where taxpayers' money, spent on Defence Forces' machinery, is being given to companies involved in violating international law because that is the case with Elbit Systems? It is not up for any dispute whatsoever-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please do not mention names. This is not a court of law.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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It is not and I am not radically quoting anything unfounded.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Your question did not name any company. It stated "details supplied" for a reason because you know that we do not do that here. I call the Minister.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I am quoting from a Trócaire document, which is a public one.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is the Parliament.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The point I am making is that the Department of Defence procedures in terms of procuring goods and services is absolutely consistent with international best practice at UN and EU levels. That is a decision we have made. If there is a collective proposal at UN level to take targeted action and to use trade as a way to force change in some part of the world or in a region, then Ireland will be part of that discussion but I am not in a position to make foreign policy decisions in regard to individual companies, and certainly not on the back of a parliamentary question.