Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Article 2.1 of the Common Position 2003/468/CFSP of 23 June 2003 on the control of arms brokering obliges EU Member States to take all necessary measures to control brokering activities taking place within their territory and also encourages them to consider controlling brokering activities outside of their territories when carried out by brokers of their nationality resident or established in their territory.

When framing the provisions of the Control of Exports Bill with regard to the regulation of brokering activities in the State, a key consideration was the highly mobile nature of arms brokering. A person normally resident here, could for example arrange for an arms transfer, while temporally outside the State, of goods that at no point transit through Ireland. In the absence of appropriate legislation, on his or her return to Ireland, no prosecution could follow, notwithstanding that an arms embargo may have been breached or that Irish export control laws may have been evaded.

A number of other EU Member States, including Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have enacted legislation to provide for controls on extra-territorial activities by arms brokers and I am satisfied therefore that this principle has been established in international law.

I acknowledge that there are challenges with regard to the enforcement of extra-territorial controls. However on balance, I consider it preferable to have such controls in place so that if documentary evidence concerning illicit arms brokering does become available, for example as a result of the sharing of intelligence between law enforcement agencies, then the State has the capacity to mount a successful prosecution.