Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am big into our status as a neutral country. I do not think we sell it enough and I do not think we make people conscious of the value of our neutrality. There is need for greater effort on the part of the Department, perhaps by way of statements, on what it means to be neutral and the value of being linked to the United Nations and so on. There are constant attempts to drag us, one way or the other, into a European army and so on. That is not what I signed up to Europe for; we must protect our neutrality and create an awareness in the public mind of the value of our neutrality and the role of our peacekeepers and so on. I ask that every effort be made by the Minister of State and the Department to ensure greater awareness among the public on what it means to be neutral. People need to be assured that we are not second-class European citizens because we have not joined the European army brigade.