David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is her first time here in her capacity as Minister of State, and I sincerely wish her the best of luck in her new job.

I agree with what was said by Senator Bacik. This Bill has cross-party support, which is very important for issues such as this one. I welcome that the Bill brings Ireland into line with its obligations under the biological weapons convention, to which we are a signatory. Under this convention, we are committed to working against non-proliferation in whatever way we can, and we are also required to take the necessary measures to prohibit and prevent the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition or retention of the agents, toxins or weapons which are prohibited under Article 1 of the convention.

Following on from the sixth review of the convention in 2006, Ireland committed to improving its legislative provisions to ensure non-proliferation and also to prevent the illegal production of materials for use in biological warfare. There is international consensus that the use of disease and biological weapons as instruments of war is barbarous and repugnant and, by its nature, inflicts the most harm upon innocent civilians. It is right and proper, therefore, that we construct legislative proposals that sanction the illegal production of such weapons or toxins.

It is also important for Ireland to set positive examples in this area. We purport to be a neutral state and other Senators have pointed out that we are very proud of the tradition of neutrality in this country. Despite our differences on the use of Shannon Airport by the US and on issues which people feel may have undermined our neutrality in recent years, we should be taking the lead on these issues, given the international respect Ireland has gained. For example, we played a significant role in the development of the landmines treaty. There is an opportunity for Ireland to take the lead on these issues.

We must put all this in a geopolitical context. It is important we are not seen to be hypocritical and are seen to be consistent. We heard examples of chemical weapons being used in East Timor, where almost one third of the population was wiped out by the Indonesian regime, and in Cambodia, Laos, Iraq and other countries. Many of these regimes were propped up, armed and financed by some of the more powerful states in the globe, including permanent members of the UN Security Council. While it is important we legislate in this area, we should also be conscious of our place in the UN and stand up to some of those more powerful states. Despite that we are a small state, we should call those large states on their failure in this respect. We must be seen to be consistent. We heard examples of what happened in Vietnam with the use of napalm. I watched a programme about a young girl who has gone on to tell her story and has improved her life since, but there are many victims of chemical and biological warfare, and not just in Vietnam. If we look to the origins of these regimes, how they came to power and how they were financially supported and armed, we find much that goes back to many western nations.

I would like to exercise some caution in respect of the burden of proof and to ensure the legislation is in line with Article 6.2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 38 of our Constitution, both of which grant the right to a fair trial. This is a serious issue. We need to ensure the law is sufficiently robust in order that we can pursue people engaged in the production, stockpiling or transportation of biological weapons while also protecting a person's right to a fair trial.

We debated the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill 2011 in the House last week and the extraterritorial aspect was an important part of that Bill. As Senator Walsh pointed out, globalisation itself has served up many different opportunities for the world, but it has also given rise to problems in different areas. The criminal justice sector is one such problem , and we need to be mindful of these. I am pleased this is contained in the Bill.

I welcome the Bill and I support the Minister of State and the Government in bringing it forward. I am sure we will have further discussion on Committee Stage. I ask the Minister of State to reflect on the need for this to be properly proofed against UN human rights legislation and international law so we are seen to be doing the right thing.