Press Release

Minister Ahern's review of Ireland's export controls

Mr. Michael Ahern T.D., Minister for Trade and Commerce today (Wednesday 6th August 2003) said that the review of Ireland's export controls system for dual-use and military goods is progressing.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment had requested Forfas to undertake the review with a view to recommending how best we can modernise and strengthen controls and ensure full compliance with Ireland's international obligations. Economic consultants were commissioned by Forfas to initiate the review.

It is being undertaken in 2 Phases. Phase I of the exercise involved the consultants interviewing the main parties who have a role or interest in the area of export controls. The objective of this Phase was to identify issues arising in the operation of the Irish system, leading in turn to proposals with regard to how these might be further examined in a Phase 2 review. The issues identified include:

• Level of User Satisfaction
• Gaps in the Controls
• Categorisation and Definitional Issues
• Reporting and Transparency
• End-use Monitoring
• Access to Specialist Expertise
• Overall Policy Articulation

The Minister announced that, in the light of the work done under Phase I, Phase 2 would have three objectives:

1. to establish more clearly the extent of the production and exports of military and dual-use equipment in Ireland, as these are already defined for international regulatory purposes;
2. to establish how the Irish regulatory system compares with that in other countries, with a particular focus on the potential difficulties and gaps that have been identified in the previous chapter;
3. to put forward practical steps to be taken to improve the system, balancing the desirability to have a high quality system on the one hand, and the need to keep this operable in an Irish context on the other.

Phase 2 will involve a wide consultation process.

Forfas has already commenced the tendering process for Phase 2. An inter-Departmental Committee representative of the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Defence, the Revenue Commissioners and Forfas has been established to oversee the exercise.

A copy of Phase I of the Review is available as a pdf document from the Department's website: http://www.djei.ie/publications/trade/2003/finalreport.pdf