Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. I will address a couple of issues that have arisen during the course of the debate. I am glad the Minister of State outlined the historical context because the world has changed over the past 20 years. It is almost impossible to believe that individuals and states now have a common enemy, which is like a thief in the night. The concept of standing armies facing each other is, since 9/11, completely outdated and we are now constantly under threat from mad individuals, assisted by Internet technology and the breakdown of social order in some former Soviet states which provided access to military weapons technology.

I am not a great fan of consultants and, in light of the information the Minister of State has provided, there seems to be a vast array of expertise not only in his but in many Departments. Why was it necessary to engage a firm of consultants to provide the benchmarking guidelines for the Forfás report? I welcome the fact that the interdepartmental group will continue to function and will have technical assistance as it is important, given the changing nature of the threat we face, that there are controls, not only within the Minister of State's own Department, which is responsible for issuing permits, but in the form of cross-departmental co-operation.

I agree with the Minister of State on section 3, which concerns extraterritoriality. Not only does it address the case of an Irish citizen engaging in transfers of weapons or military hardware outside Ireland but criminal elements who use some European countries to access weaponry to threaten our own citizens. There was such an example this week when a criminal was set free by a Dutch court, much to the consternation and anger of the Garda Síochána, which had provided all the information it felt was necessary for a conviction. However, the Dutch police moved too quickly and apprehended the alleged criminal entering an apartment rather than inside the apartment. As a result, he was able to argue in court that the weaponry found in his apartment did not belong to him and was allowed to go free, despite the fact that, as reported in the newspapers, the Garda Síochána has evidence that the man in question is responsible for murder in Ireland. The Bill does not address just the larger military threat from al-Qaeda but from individuals who threaten the basic democratic fabric of this State. These criminal elements attempt to bypass Irish law by exchanging arms outside the country.

Ireland has a proud record in such matters. We do not do war but peace, and we do it very well. The overwhelming will of the Irish people is not to be involved in military alliances. At the same time I share some of Senator Coghlan's views that, as a sovereign, independent, proud and confident nation which has taken its place at the European Union table, we have shared responsibilities for world peace and security and should not lose sight of that in an onward rush to protect neutrality at all costs. There is overwhelming evidence that we must be seen to stand up in a shared heritage with our European neighbours. I welcome the Bill and commend it to the House.