Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason Ireland does not fulfil its obligations under the EU Common Position on Arms Brokering; when Ireland will be able to fulfil its obligations; his views on whether it is desirable that arms brokers can operate unhindered from Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2536/07]

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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A Memorandum will be brought to Government shortly authorizing publication of the Control of Exports Bill and I hope to bring the new legislation before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the next few weeks.

The proposed legislation will update the existing Control of Exports Act which dates from 1983 and will ensure that Ireland's export controls are in line with best international practice. In this regard, the new legislation will include, for the first time, provision for the regulation of arms brokering activities in Ireland and by Irish citizens abroad. This will enable Ireland to fulfil its obligation under the EU Common Position on Arms Brokering, which requires Member States to take all the necessary measures to control brokering activities on their territory. This shift in the structure of international trade poses challenges to economic policy makers in all countries. Thankfully, Ireland has so far shown itself sufficiently flexible and adaptable to move to higher value added activities, providing quality, sustainable jobs. Furthermore, in large companies this process of transformation is often accommodated by a reallocation and retraining of staff within the company, and this on-going internal re-organisation and upskilling, resulting in improved productivity in the face of international competition does not get the same media attention that job losses do. However, there are of course cases where plants do shut down, and the resulting redundancies can be very difficult for workers and their communities. Where this has occurred to date it has mainly been confined to relatively low technology, labour-intensive activities. We are continuing to pursue policies to promote lifelong learning and upskilling to improve labour market flexibility and, where necessary, ensure that appropriate training supports are provided for workers in sectors that are no longer competitive, should they need to find alternative employment.

The principle task of government is to ensure that Ireland continues to be an attractive place to do business, and to help foster economic competencies higher up the value chain. In that regard, this government has made significant progress in working towards maintaining and enhancing our framework competitive conditions, and promoting new areas of competitive advantage by developing our R&D base, investing in critical physical and communications infrastructures, and promoting tertiary education and lifelong learning. Clearly the strategies set out in the new National Development Plan will play a crucial role in maintaining Ireland's attractiveness as an investment location.

Furthermore, it should be noted that in addition to attracting foreign investment, IDA Ireland also places significant focus on embedding existing multinational enterprises in Ireland, by encouraging such enterprises to increase the scale of Irish subsidiaries, and to also expand the range of activities undertaken in Irish subsidiaries to include less mobile types of operations (e.g. R&D activities, Supply Chain Management, etc.). This process of embedding subsidiaries of multinational enterprises makes relocation less likely.