Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Barry that context is all here. The context of this is a long-standing commitment to neutrality on behalf of the Irish State and the idea that the implementation of this section in any way diminishes or affects the commitment that we have to our neutrality is completely wrong. Furthermore, if at some point in the future, a Government was in a situation in which it was making a decision on the presence of NATO forces in Ireland, the ability of that Government to claim relief on excise duty would not be a relevant factor in that decision. The context is all and this does not affect our commitment to our neutrality.