Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. Go n-éirí go mór léi san obair thábhachtach atá le déanamh aici ar son ár dtíre. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to the House. From serving with her on other bodies in the House, I know she will bring a great deal of diligence to the job. I wish her well in her position.

The Bill, like much of the legislation we will see enacted in the coming months, was in preparation during the lifetime of the previous Government. It was introduced in the Dáil as long ago as last July. Technical amendments will come before the House but the Bill is, by and large, as published at that time.

The purpose of the Biological Weapons Bill 2010 is to ban the production, transportation or use of biological weapons. As the Minister of State has said, the Bill is specific to biological weapons. It forms part of a fabric of legislation dealing with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction that have, all too often, been used against innocent citizens in various areas of conflict. I was watching a documentary some evenings ago - on RTE Two, I believe - in which there was a reference to the iconic image of a young girl of nine or ten years running down the road naked after her clothes had been burned from her body through the use of napalm in the Vietnam war. I understand napalm is an incendiary weapon rather than a weapon of mass destruction, but it brings home to us that there is much indiscriminate activity in areas of conflict. It is imperative that there be legislative backup, both domestic and international, to deal with this.

Recently we have noted that individuals who were involved in genocide in the Balkans conflict have, belatedly but thankfully, been brought to account for the war crimes they committed. We need to be much more diligent in this regard. Some notable countries have not signed up to making themselves subject to international justice when their soldiers or agencies are involved in atrocities. We should be critical of this. Some of the countries involved are major international players. They should bring themselves within the remit of the international courts to ensure those who engage in conflict bear in mind they might be held to account some day for their criminal activities.

I welcome all the provisions of the Bill, particularly the one dealing with extraterritorial application. This is important because terrorist activities and crime generally, by their nature, cross geographical and state frontiers. The perpetrators have no respect or regard for boundaries. The legislation will extend the remit of our laws to Irish ships and aeroplanes should they be used in criminal activities of the kind in question.

I welcome the fact that one can be prosecuted for all offences associated with biological weapons. Being in possession of biological weapons will in itself constitute sufficient evidence to bring one to account under the legislation. This is to be welcomed. While this is a move away from the general test of prosecution law, it makes a great deal of sense in this instance because the consequences of biological weapon offences are horrendous for innocent people. I acknowledge biological agents can be used for legal purposes.

I question the low fine for ordinary offences which has been set at €5,000. Obviously, a term of life imprisonment can be imposed for indictable offences. In practice, how could an ordinary offence be committed? If one is in possession of or transporting biological weapons, or meets any of the criteria associated with the test in law, how could this be regarded as a minor infringement of the provisions? Given the potential consequences of using biological weapons, I would have believed any infringement

would be of such seriousness that the perpetrator should not escape with a relatively minor fine or period of imprisonment. Perhaps the Minister of State will comment on this. If one is in possession of a biological agent for hostile purposes – one cannot be prosecuted unless there is hostile intent – the offence should at least be one of attempted murder, if not mass murder.

The Minister of State has said legislative instruments in this area date back about 86 years to the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, BTWC, of 1972. We should all support strongly and subscribe to safeguarding the interests of the public in circumstances of conflict or terrorism. In that regard, the Minister of State mentioned UN Resolution 1540 which came about in the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2011 which constituted an horrendous attack on innocent people who were going about their daily work. One has great sympathy for the United States in this regard. The primary aim of the resolution is to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The BTWC established a fundamental international norm that the hostile use of diseases was repugnant to mankind. I firmly believe a few basic principles to guide society and our actions, be they in the international arena or areas of conflict, are essential and should be the benchmark when breaches take place. Ireland has been very much at the forefront in this regard. It signed the BTWC in 1972. I am surprised there are only approximately 15 signatory states to the convention. If my information is correct, this seems low. I am concerned that certain states in the Middle East, particularly Israel, are not party to it. Article IV of the convention requires that each state must take "any necessary measures to prohibit and prevent the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition, or retention of the agents, toxins, weapons, equipment and means of delivery specified in article I of the Convention, within the territory of such State, under its jurisdiction or under its control anywhere". It is on foot of this article that we are considering this additional legislation.

As the Minister of State said, it is not just states which are responsible for the use of biological weapons, although notable activities in this regard have been engaged in by states. Libya is very much in the news at present. The activities of Colonel Gaddafi during his term as leader of Libya have been highly questionable on occasion. One need only consider a serious air crash that took place on the neighbouring island. It is extraordinary that no international action was taken at the time of the crash as a consequence. Now that there is movement towards change in many countries in the Middle East and given that Tripoli and other parts of Libya are being bombed, one must question the motivation of international action. Perhaps a moral compass is lacking at times in political and international affairs.

The final document that emerged from the sixth review conference in Geneva is interesting in that it is designed to improve criminal law pertaining to biological weapons and their proliferation. The Minister of State has rightly said it is not just a question of states' activities. In this regard, she mentioned anthrax. Society is very vulnerable to the nefarious use of such agents.

It is imperative that not just Ireland but other states globally embrace the provisions of these conventions and similar legislation.

It struck me from what we heard today about this issue that there should be a role for Ireland. We are a neutral country and in most areas of the globe Ireland's activities as a neutral country are respected, acknowledged and supported. There must be an opportunity for Ireland to place itself as a centre of excellence for the non-proliferation of weapons, be they biological or nuclear, which lead to killing innocent citizens. As a result of the peace process in Northern Ireland, many areas of conflict now look to us as a country where the pattern of events and the agreements which led to the peace process could be a blueprint for them to follow.

I note that some of these conventions were signed in Geneva. Switzerland has been particularly adept at positioning itself in certain areas which has benefited it economically, certainly in banking and other areas, including watch-making. That did not happen by accident. It targeted areas in which it felt there were opportunities. We may well have an opportunity which we could exploit, not just to our own economic advantage but to the advantage of citizens across the world, in that we could use our good Christian values to underpin values we can export to other areas of conflict and where we could usefully play a constructive role. I leave that thought with the Minister as one that might be explored at some point in the foreign affairs area.