Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Like Senator Boyle and others, I support the swift passage of the Bill through both Houses. I commend the efforts of Deputies and Senators on their efforts to ensure the Bill passes as expeditiously as possible.

This is important legislation because it ensures that Ireland plays a large part in the global effort to eradicate the use of cluster bombs and anti-personnel mines. As well as providing the necessary legislative framework in advance of next month's Oslo conference, the Bill makes an important statement to the peoples of the world about what our nation and the world believes is acceptable in times of war. The use of cluster munitions in modern military offensive operations is indefensible. Small, bright and attractive to children at play, unexploded bomblets have been responsible for killing and maiming countless innocent lives.

The issue has been ignored for too long. It is a shame that it took scenes of mass carnage in countries such as Lebanon for the world to unite and act. The Red Cross estimates that more than 250 million cluster munitions were dropped in the 1960s and 1970s. A UN report indicates that, during the conflict in Lebanon, up to 1 million cluster munitions failed to explode upon impact. Consequently, approximately 40 million sq. m of land is contaminated.

I witnessed the impact of cluster bombs and other unexploded munitions on a civilian population when I was in Khe Sanh on the Ho Chi Minh trail in Vietnam where the Americans had a base. Children are still losing their lives to the many unexploded munitions there. The threat is present for many people across the world. Vietnam is one of our programme countries and the Minister of State, who has visited it, has presumably seen what I am referring to. It is important that the issue be tackled.

The Bill and, more importantly, next month's treaty signing will add an unambiguous and overdue chapter to what constitutes acceptable behaviour during times of war. I commend the Government, the Minister of State and everyone involved in the endorsement of the convention on cluster bomb munitions some months ago. The strength of the treaty lies in its drafting and language. It specifically prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. It states that signatories in possession of cluster munitions should have them destroyed. It is important to point out that, as we speak, approximately 107 countries are enacting legislation similar to the Bill before the House. It is a victory for diplomacy and proof that negotiation and international consensus remain the best vehicles to effect change.

I regret that China, Russia and India did not attend the May conference. It is unfortunate that they do not intend to sign the Oslo treaty. Their shameful inaction flies in the face of the opinions of the peoples and the nations of the world, but I hold out great hope that the incoming US Administration will reverse America's policy and sign up. It is encouraging that the conference was attended by Senator Patrick Leahy, who indicated that the Obama Administration, if elected, would add the US to the list of signatories. Barack Obama, who is now president-elect, voted in the Senate for a Bill on the restriction of America's use of cluster munitions. However, it is important to note that Senator Clinton, the presumptive Secretary of State, voted against the same measure.

I hope that the tide of collective opinion and moral pressure will encourage those countries that do not intend to sign the treaty to do so or to adhere to the spirit of its contents. I commend the provision in section 21 of the Bill, which recommends that Ireland encourage non-signatories to accept, approve or accede to the treaty. Given that Ireland is seen as an honest broker on the international stage, I welcome this provision.

The section that prohibits the use of public money or State-funded investments in munition companies states, "Nothing in any enactment that authorises the investment of public moneys shall be taken to authorise any investment, direct or indirect, in a munitions company." That the State should refrain from investing in such companies should go without saying, but the revelation that the National Pensions Reserve Fund has connections with some of the companies in question means that a provision prohibiting the practice is welcome and necessary.

I am pleased that the Bill will be approved by the House, I commend the bipartisan efforts to ensure it will be enacted as soon as possible and I look forward to the treaty signing in Oslo next month, which will represent an important milestone in the protection of civilians during wartime.