THE Tanaiste has been urged by AFrI to ban companies from producing weapon components or "dual use" goods for export.
Ireland's EU Presidency provides the "perfect context" for such a strongly symbolic and practical act", AFrI's co-ordinator, Mr Joe Murray, has said in a letter to Mr Spring.
Five of the 14 companies identified in the AFrI report have confirmed that they have links to the military industry, while six gave no response.
The five are Analog Devices B.Y., Limerick Assman Electronics Ltd, Ennis, Co Clare Befab Safeland Ltd, Shannon Schaffner Intepro Systems Ltd, Limerick and Western Avionics, Clare.
A sixth company, Essco Collins in Kilkishen, Clare, which specialises in radomes (protective covers for antennae used in air traffic control), said that it supplied both civil aviation and "air forces" overseas.
The eight other companies contacted were Adtec Teo/Timoney Holdings, Gibbstown, Navan, Co Meath Ardee Sports, Ardee, Co Louth Chemfab Europe Ltd, Clare Data Device Corporation, Cork M/A Com Eurotec Operations, Cork Moog Ltd (Ireland), Cork Westinghouse Electric Systems and Logistics Ltd, Shannon, Co Clare and Unitrode B.V.,Ennis, Co Clare.
The National Micro Electronics Research Centre at University College, Cork, confirmed that it had worked in collaboration with arms industry clients, including British Aerospace, GEC Marconi, Thomson CSF, Thorm EMI, Moog and Data Device Corporation.
It said that all of these companies worked exclusively, or had a significant portion of their activity, in the non-military field. All of the projects with which the centre was involved were of a non-military nature.