Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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379. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details on the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34812/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons leading to their total elimination, which was adopted by 122 States at the United Nations on 7 July 2017, represents the successful outcome of many years of work by committed States and Civil Society partners who have been concerned at the slow pace of multilateral nuclear disarmament efforts, including the lack of progress on commitments undertaken in the context of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Recognition of the catastrophic consequences of any nuclear weapons detonation has been a driving force behind this international momentum to prohibit nuclear weapons, following the holding of three major humanitarian consequences conferences between 2012 and 2014, which highlighted, firstly, that the risk of an accidental or deliberate detonation is far higher than had been previously thought, and secondly, that there is no global response capacity which could adequately address the aftermath of a nuclear weapons detonation, a concern which has been highlighted in particular by the International Committee of the Red Cross, (ICRC).

I am proud that Ireland has played a leadership role, together with Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, and South Africa, in bringing forward the UN Resolution convening the Diplomatic Conference that negotiated this ground-breaking new treaty. Ireland has consistently been in the vanguard of the move for multilateral nuclear disarmament since we joined the UN over sixty years ago. We remain unwavering in our commitment to the NPT, to which Ireland has a historic connection as the first State invited to sign, in recognition of our efforts on this issue at the UN. We view this new Treaty as strengthening the NPT and the shared, global vision of a world free from nuclear weapons. Work on a number of options for legal pathways to multilateral nuclear disarmament, carried out by Ireland and our partners in the New Agenda Coalition (NAC), which was formed in 1998 to give renewed impetus to the NPT’s disarmament provisions, has also been highly influential in informing the preparatory work on the new Treaty.

This new Treaty complements the NPT, but it also implements it. The NPT always envisaged further effective measures on nuclear disarmament and this new treaty represents one such effective measure. This Treaty, through its core prohibitions on the Development, Testing, Production, Manufacture, Acquisition, Possession or Stockpiling of nuclear weapons, will establish an important global norm and will help us to continue to raise awareness of the risks posted by the continued existence of these weapons. The Treaty honours the memory of the victims of nuclear weapons and the key role played by survivors in providing the living testimony which calls on us to ensure that these weapons are never used again. It also provides pathways for the accession of those States possessing nuclear weapons, when they decide to join.

The Treaty will be open for signature at the UN from 20 September 2017 and it is my intention that Ireland will sign the Treaty as soon as the necessary arrangements to do so are in place.