Can the Minister say whether our action in signing the non-proliferation treaty and whether the Government's policy is such that it not only precludes us from owning, acquiring and manufacturing nuclear weapons but also precludes our joining any alliance which has control over a nuclear weapon?

That is correct.

I believe the Minister may not have understood my question. What I wanted him to say was whether the Government policy, as outlined by him in relation to nuclear weapons, also includes a definite commitment not to participate in any military alliance that has control over the use of nuclear weapons.

We signed that agreement for Ireland and our commitment is on behalf of Ireland. That is the only commitment in it and the commitment in it is what I have stated here. We have agreed not to receive nuclear weapons or to manufacture or otherwise acquire them and we fully adhere to the provisions of the treaty.

Outside the conditions of the non-proliferation agreement, would the Minister confirm or deny in relation to Government policy that, as an obvious extension of their belief in signing the non-proliferation treaty, they are also committed not to join any military alliance that controls nuclear weapons?

That is a separate matter.

Will the Minister answer me?

The Deputy put down a question and I have answered it very fully. Nobody is requesting us to join NATO. Nobody has ever asked us to do so. Nobody wants us to do so and we do not want to join either.

Would the Minister not accept that the Irish people would like something stronger from him than the statement "We do not want to join NATO"? Can the Minister not give a more definite commitment than that?

Nobody has asked us to join NATO.

There is no question on the Order Paper about NATO.

If the Deputy will put down a question on that, I will answer it.

I would not join any group that has the Minister as a member.

We are in the European Economic Community, as the Deputy knows, and we have no defence commitment and other countries in that Community have nuclear weapons.