Irish dual-use exports may violate human rights regulations claims campaign group

Authors of a report have claimed that Ireland may be out of compliance with EU human rights regulations due to a significant increase in its exports of dual-use goods to Israel.

The report, issued this week by Irish progressive campaigning organisation Uplift, found that Ireland’s dual-use exports to Israel reached €70.4 million in 2023, a six-fold increase on the previous year.

Dual-use items made up 13% of Irish goods exported to Israel, a figure that the report termed ‘disproportionately high given the average across other countries is between 0 and 1%’.

The report said Ireland’s Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment had issued eight dual-use licences since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, for a total value of €32.1 million. All six of the licences issued in 2024 were for items in category 5, telecommunications and information security, which includes cyber-surveillance technologies as well as ICT and cybersecurity products.

The assessment process for dual-use licences ‘has been described as a holistic approach involving a risk-assessment including due diligence checks on the companies in question utilising knowledge from the Department of Foreign Affairs,’ the report said. ‘The assessment process must take into account eight criteria as established in the European Commission regulations including criteria relating to respect for human rights in the country of final destination, as well as a respect by that country of international humanitarian law.’

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s former Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said in February that ‘as part of their assessment, my officials seek the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of all applications for export licences. Both my own Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs review all dual-use export licence applications against the eight assessment criteria set out in Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP – including “Respect for human rights in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country of international humanitarian law” and “Internal situation in the country of final destination, as a function of the existence of tensions or armed conflicts”.’

Synopsis: Ireland-Israel Trade and Human Rights – Uplift – People Powered Change