Galway public meeting

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday January 11, 2003 10:58 by John Cunningham - Galway Alliance Against War johnliamsheain at eircom dot net

'A bad business: the arms trade and Ireland'

The Galway Alliance Against War is holding a public meeting on Monday, 13 January, 2003, in the Atlanta Hotel, Dominick-street. The main speaker, Joe Murray of Afri, will trace the growth of arms of production by multinational corporations in Ireland. Other speakers will address the local issue as it relates to the Hewlett-Packard plant in the city. The meeting, which will be chaired by Michael D. Higgins, is part of GAAW's ongoing campaign against weapons' manufacture.

The recent allegations regarding the Hewlett-Packard (Compaq) plant in
Galway have focused attention on Ireland’s role in the international arms
industry. For the Galway Alliance Against War (GAAW), the controversy
highlighted the need for more information about the real policy of the Irish
state in the matter.

At 8 pm on next Monday night, 13 January, in the Atlanta Hotel, Dominick-street,
GAAW is holding a public meeting under the title:
A BAD BUSINESS: THE ARMS TRADE & IRELAND.

The main speaker is Joe Murray, of the development agency Afri, who has exhaustively researched
the subject. In the chair will be Michael D. Higgins TD. Other speakers are expected to address the issue of Galway links with the arms trade.

According to Joe Murray, there was no known armaments production in Ireland
until 1996. Indeed, prior to 1996, government ministers of all parties
constantly drew attention to this laudable fact. The position has changed,
however, and many of the companies located here are involved in aspects of
the arms industry. Joe Murray believes that governments and state agencies
have deliberately turned a blind eye to this development, with export
licences being granted willy-nilly and without any real investigation. "The
pre-Christmas revelations concerning Hewlett-Packard in Galway showed, at
the very least, wilful ignorance on the part of the Department of
Enterprise", according to Mr Murray.