John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the annual reports published pursuant to the Control of Exports Bill will provide details of the quantities of goods licensed for export, values of the exports and details of the actual end users. [8569/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the annual reports published pursuant to the Control of Exports Bill will provide details of companies exporting dual use goods under open licences such as the community general export authorisation. [8570/07]

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 168 together.

The Control of Exports Bill 2007, which I am pleased to inform the House has passed all stages in the Seanad, contains provision for the publication of an Annual Report to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is in line with a key recommendation of the Forfás review on export licensing and responds to calls for greater transparency in this area.

The Report will contain, inter alia, information on the aggregate actual value of goods exported under licence by category and country of destination. I am firmly of the opinion that this will present a far more accurate representation of trade in licensed products rather than relying on licensed values. These by their nature tend to be considerable overestimations of the volume of trade. The format proposed is similar to that of the EU's Annual Report on the operation of the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, which reports on the export of military goods from EU Member States and to which Ireland contributes.

As regards information on individual exporters and end users, let me be clear that I do not consider it appropriate to provide such data. Not only would this measure be anti-business, in that it would provide commercially sensitive information to foreign competitors, but there are also international and security considerations. Ireland works closely with our EU partners and other like-minded countries in the International Export Control Regimes and we share information on end-users of concern on a confidential basis. Publication of information on individual exporters and end users could prejudice or impair the enforcement of, and compliance with, applicable Irish and European legislation.