Ms Margaretta D'Arcy:

I am what is known as a do-gooder. I have been a do-gooder all my life. Being a do-gooder means being out protesting, sometimes with a few people and sometimes with many people.

My do-goodering has now exposed the medical cards issue, and I am proud of that. That was a bloody mess. Now, due to pressure from people like me and others, it has been decided that the medical cards are a mistake. What about the Magdalen laundries, infected blood and women whose pelvises were cut open? As we have gone through what has happened in this country with infected blood, cracked pelvises and medical cards withdrawn, let us now look at Shannon Airport. Have any of the members seen the movie "Life of Brian"? Shannon Airport is definitely what is known as a Monty Python scenario. There are civilian airplanes, military airplanes and the Irish Army. I always thought the Irish Army was there to protect the Irish people, but in this Monty Python scenario the Irish Army is there to protect the US military, who are there to destroy half the world.

We had a very interesting time in Buswells Hotel. It was a shame the committee members could not come there to listen to Tom Clonan. I learned something new. Before the Iraq invasion, there was a conference led by a US military gentleman. He said the purpose of the Iraq war was breaking and killing people. Our Army is there to protect the US military, who are there to break and kill people. Is that not funny? Is it not just hilarious?

There is another matter I find quite interesting. It involves a new phrase which the members might note and search on Google, "virtual forward airbase". Have the members heard those words previously? It is a phrase that Donald Rumsfeld used for Shannon Airport. Shannon Airport, and indeed our wonderful country, is at the centre of an aggressive illegal war which destroys people. Do we believe in words? This is a really good thing for the Monty Python up on the cross. Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.

These are wonderful words but I have two questions for the committee. Do words mean anything? If words do not mean anything then what have we got?

I shall continue to outline the scenario at Shannon. Believe it or not, we will hold a fun-run on the runway where we have the military and a history of rendition flights going through the airport with torture on their agenda. The fun-run will be held in aid of the Samaritans. As Members will know, it is an organisation that tries to prevent young people from killing themselves. However, we will hold a fun-run in a crime-laden place of murder and assassination. To help the young people to understand, this is a bit like having a fun-run in Auschwitz. It is most bizarre to have a fun-run in the middle of one of the bloodiest messes in the Middle East. Can we really say that our young people will be given the confidence to live by holding a fun-run at Shannon Airport?

I want members to take my following question very seriously. Do people of my age have anything to live for when we can see that the Irish State had dishonoured us? There was a time when I travelled abroad. I have gone abroad and been to Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. On my travels I always felt very proud because Ireland was a neutral country and thus not part of the complicity taking place, at the time, in Afghanistan with the presence of the Russians, Americans and Chinese. I felt good that Ireland was a nice neutral country and believed it might have something to contribute to the world. However, we are now a blood-ridden country. If I went to Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran now and said I was Irish they would say to me that I have blood on my hands. The Government's failure to protect us has led to the possibility of us being accused of being war criminals. That is the reason I would prefer to blow myself up on the runway with petrol rather than go down in history as being a war criminal.