US arms companies see Ireland as a bridgehead to European markets, especially since the Belfast Agreement was signed, a conference on the arms trade has been told.
The result was Ireland was now sending increasing amounts of weapons and weapon components to Africa and other parts of the developing world, along with the development workers and missionaries for which it was famed, Mr Joe Murray, co-ordinator of AFrI (Action From Ireland) said.
"We are being asked to secure the peace in Ireland by investing in an industry whose purpose is to fuel conflicts throughout the world," he told the Feile Bhride conference in Kildare town at the weekend. He said that Irish defence contractors were now exporting to 30 countries worldwide.
The number of military export licences issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment had increased from 81 in 1996 to 346 in the first 11 months of last year. Export destinations included Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Chile and Brazil.
Boeing and General Electric, two of the companies that participated in a US trade delegation to Ireland last year, rank among the 10 largest arms-producing companies.
The US, in furtherance of its own interests, saw Ireland as a convenient means of accessing the lucrative European market, he said. A 1996 report from AFrI found that more than a dozen Irish companies had links with the arms trade and military industry.
The Government maintains that Ireland has no indigenous arms industry, but it permits the export of "dual use" goods - meaning they can be put to civilian or military application.
AFrI claims "dual-use goods" are a euphemism for "defence-related" industry. Mr Murray referred to a US-owned company, Allied Signal, which last month announced a £22.8 million expansion of its Waterford factory. In the US, the company is one of the top 10 aerospace producers, but also manufactures "mortar fire control systems" for the US army. The company says such products will not be manufactured in Ireland.
AFrI has also targeted Kentree, an Irish-owned company in Kilbrittain, Co Cork, which manufactures a "bomb-responsive anti-terrorist" vehicle.
However, the managing director of Kentree, Mr Elgan Loane, said that all the company's products had defensive, as opposed to offensive, applications.
