The Government’s Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2026 includes amendments to the Science and Technology Act 1987 that would remove controls and oversight on arms industries in Ireland.
The Government’s legislation would remove Section 8, subsection 5 of the Science and Technology Act 1987. This section of the existing legislation states that State agencies ‘shall not engage in or promote any activity of a primarily military relevance without the prior approval of the Government.’
This Government amendment to its own legislation was introduced after completion of Pre-Legislative Scrutiny by the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett has submitted amendments to the Government’s Bill which aim to prevent the proposed removal of oversights and controls on the arms industry. These are the only amendments submitted by opposition parties.
Deputy Boyd Barrett will call a vote on his amendment which seeks to prevent the Government deleting Section 8(5) of the Science and Technology Act 1987 when the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment resumes its deliberations on the Government’s Bill on 1st July.
At the opening session of the committee stage of the bill this afternoon, Deputy Boyd Barrett had an extended debate with Minister Peter Burke in relation to his amendments.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said:
“The Government’s Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2026 includes alarming proposals to reduce oversight and controls on the arms industry in the State.
“A Bill that is supposedly about supporting enterprise and industry is being used to smuggle in something very sinister. The Government added a provision to its own legislation, after the completion of Pre Legislative Scrutiny, to remove the requirement for state agencies to have government approval to engage in or promote any activity of a primarily military relevance.
“The Government’s legislative sleight of hand could also facilitate state-funded contributions to Israel’s genocide and war crimes. It is deeply disturbing that this comes shortly after we learned of the export of tens of millions worth of dual-use technologies from Ireland to Israel’s military, in the mist of Israel's genocide in Gaza.
“The Irish Government wants to reduce the obligation on State agencies which might be engaged with companies in the production of that kind of technology from having to seek Government authorisation. This is truly alarming and my deep concerns are exacerbated by the fact that this was not in the original draft scheme of the Bill.
“This demonstrates once again why the Government cannot be trusted with Irish neutrality, cannot be trusted not to engage in war profiteering, and cannot be trusted not to be complicit with genocidal crimes being committed by the likes of the Israeli state.
“I raised these issues with Minister Peter Burke in the Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment today and I will be calling a vote on my amendment to prevent the Government removing oversights of arms industry at the next meeting of the committee on 1st July.”