Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on progress being made in relation to the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [38393/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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From Ireland's national standpoint, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) remains the corner-stone of the non-proliferation regime. It is the main international mechanism for controlling the spread of nuclear weapons, and contains the only multilateral obligation to nuclear disarmament in the text of a treaty by the five recognised nuclear weapons States (US, UK, France, the Russian Federation and China).

At the Seventh Review Conference in May 2005, there were fundamental differences between those who wanted the conference to focus on proliferation, and those — the majority — who emphasised the lack of serious nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapons States. The failure of the 2005 Review Conference to reach an outcome makes it more important than ever to have a successful Conference in 2010, and Ireland will work hard to bring this about. Clearly, the views of nuclear weapons states are crucial. Since 2005, there have been annual preparatory meetings aimed at achieving this objective. The final such meeting ahead of the Review Conference will be held in New York during May of next year.

With the upcoming change of administration in the United States, there are indications that alterations to certain policies, including towards the NPT, may be in the offing. Such changes could help create conditions more conducive to a successful 2010 Review Conference.