With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take questions Nos. 17, 18 and 19 together.
The goal of general and complete disarmament under effective international control was set out by the United Nations as the desired objective in the disarmament field as early as 1961. Ireland fully supports this objective. Nonetheless if we are ever to achieve this goal we must, not simply talk about it, but set out a practical programme on how it can be achieved and encourage realistic measures which will bring it about.
With this in mind Ireland together with five other countries proposed a comprehensive programme on disarmament to the United Nations on 1 December 1970. In the course of his detailed statement on disarmament at the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament in 1978 the former Taoiseach, Deputy Jack Lynch, reiterated Ireland's commitment to general and complete disarmament and towards that end proposed a ten-point programme of concrete disarmament measures. A specific programme of action was agreed at the special session. The UN Disarmament Commission elaborated that programme last May and the Committee on Disarmament has begun work on negotiating the elements of a programme of general and complete disarmament in time for the Second Special Session on Disarmament which will be held in 1982. While general and complete disarmament remains our goal we must recognise that negotiations should continue on arms control and more limited disarmament measures.
At the forthcoming Second Review Conference of the Treaty on the non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons the Irish delegation will work for the strengthening and strict implementation of the provisions of the Treaty. The non-Proliferation Treaty has been successful as an instrument for limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. However, we are seriously concerned that the increasing technological capacity of many countries could place the nuclear weapons option within the reach of more and more countries. The prospect of a continuing arms race between the nuclear powers adds to these concerns. We believe it is particularly important that the forthcoming review conference should reduce these concerns, help arrest the dangerous trends in the arms race and achieve the following concrete results:
(i) a more determined effort by the nuclear powers to fulfil their treaty obligations particularly the solemn obligation contained in Article VI of the treaty on nuclear disarmament;
(ii) the conclusion of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and, in the absence of this, an immediate moratorium on all nuclear weapons testing;
(iii) full guarantees by the nuclear weapon states that they will never use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states; and
(iv) greater control over the transfer of sensitive technology by means of strict and effective implementation of IAEA safeguards.
I understand the Deputy's point in relation to the imposition of time limits for the achievement of general and complete disarmament. However, I think that in the present circumstances such a proposal would have little prospect of meeting with success. In addition negotiations on time limits could delay the urgent task of achieving agreement on substantive and practical disarmament measures.