IRELAND is not a producer of armaments and will not become one, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said last night during the adjournment debate.
Responding to the report by solidarity group AFrI (Action from Ireland), which found that more than a dozen Irish companies had links to the arms trade and military industry, Ms Joan Burton said she did not accept the Government should be saddled with "guilt by association".
She agreed with the study's thesis that the arms industry inhibited development. As part of Ireland's EU Presidency programme, it intended to press further for a ban on landmines and to promote the Government's disarmament policies.
But she was critical of the report's suggestion that Irish employees and companies had some responsibility for atrocities committed by armaments, when it had also acknowledged that Ireland's contribution was on a sub contractual basis, at the bottom of the production pyramid.
The report outlined two case histories which showed the effects of the arms industry - East Timor and Nigeria - but suggested no connection between Irish products and the arms used there.
"I think it is unfair to use the tactic of guilt by association to suggest that we in Ireland have some responsibility for the atrocities committed in these areas, when in fact we have an honourable record, recognised by non governmental organisations for promoting conflict prevention and respect for human rights in these and other areas", Ms Burton said.
However, Mr Tom Kitt (FF) said the Government "simply cannot have it both ways". The White Paper on Foreign Policy stated that "Ireland had no indigenous arms industry and thus no economic dependence on arms exports", but the AfrI report "spells out clearly," that that statement was an untruth he said.
"We have been told that the Irish presidency would be used to intensify our efforts and influence others in relation to these issues. This report has, in effect, shattered our credibility in this critical area of Irish foreign policy", he added.
