Minister Kitt Rejects Amnesty Criticism

Tom Kitt, Minister for Trade today (Thursday 18^th October 2001) rejected categorically the suggestion that the Department's export controls system is designed to frustrate parliamentary scrutiny and confuse attempts to discover the level and extent of exports of controlled goods either military or dual-use.

"The assertion by Amnesty is simply untrue. The Department operates one of the more transparent systems of reporting within the European Union. This was clearly recognized in the December, 2000 Saferworld report entitled 'Transparency and Accountability in European Arms Exports Controls'. That report found that the Irish system allows the greatest possible level of transparency, with the publication of monthly statistics on the Internet," said the Minister.

The Minister continued, "I am prepared to accept however that there may be room for improvement in the way in which the information is presented. It is clear from the Amnesty report that many of their concerns regarding exports from Ireland of controlled goods relate to the types and amount of information available regarding the goods being exported and their end-use. I have asked my officials to examine the way in which the information is presented for example on the Department's website, with a view to further improving the level of transparency.

"The issues associated with the control of exports of these goods are the subject of ongoing examination by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs," the Minister concluded.