Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber again and thank him for the work he and his officials have done on this Bill and in general throughout the year in the Department. As Senator Crowe said, this is important legislation. It has come through the Dáil already. It is a technical Bill but important nonetheless.

The aim of the Bill is to streamline and strengthen Ireland's existing export control framework and ensure Ireland fulfils its EU and UN obligations in respect of the exports of controlled goods. The Bill will repeal and replace the Control of Exports Act 2008. That Act must be updated to reflect significant advances in technology, new developments in business practices, updates to EU infrastructures and the evolved geopolitical risk landscape. The Bill principally provides for an authorisation system for the export of dual-use and military items from Ireland to third countries. It will ensure Ireland continues to operate a robust framework for regulating the export of controlled items, principally dual-use and military items. These controls are targeted and proportionate and aim to minimise the burden on reputable exports engaged in legitimate, low-risk trade.

The Bill ensures the Minister has a sound legal base for the administration of export controls in Ireland, the provision of controls related to dual-use items and controls related to military items, the establishment of a national military export control list, rules and conditions for obtaining and using authorisations, exemptions for the Defence Forces or An Garda Síochána in certain circumstances, the establishment of an independent adjudication panel to hear appeals and disclosure requests, an effective enforcement capability for authorised officers, the establishment of a comprehensive set of offences for infringements of the controls, and proportionate graduated penalties for breaches. It is an important Bill. It obviously does not affect a large number of people, but it is important. I know it is certainly welcomed on this side of the House. It is yet another Bill that has been put through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment this year. It has been an incredibly busy time for the Department.

If I am allowed to make a sideways comment, we are only a week away from an important budget for businesses and for supporting businesses. I have just met with the Small Firms Association, which outlined the challenges that exist for employers at the moment. Sometimes, these problems arise on the back of our own success in having full employment. Employers are now having real challenges with getting and retaining employees. Essentially, their simple request to the Government is for more supports, more money and more time for employers to be able to manage their businesses better.

We can be accused of many things as a Government over the last three or four years, but we certainly cannot be accused of not supporting businesses through some of the biggest impacts we have experienced in the history of the State. If we can do that in the forthcoming budget, as we have done in previous budgets, it will go a long way in protecting the economy and protecting everyone who is employed in this country.

While the Minister of State is here, one of the issues about which I hear quite a lot-----