Professor John Maguire:

In my written statement I include a link to an extraordinary interview by Philip McDonagh, former Irish ambassador to Russia, calling for diplomacy. What he does is similar to what Erskine Childers did in the 1990s. I have a hard copy of the Childers work which I can leave with the committee or I can provide the reference. These were people who came along and said the world is in a sorry state but this is how we can mend it. Philip McDonagh not only talks about how the UN can work but also talks about the OSCE, which was central in the White Paper on foreign policy. The Irish Government said that it was the only body that can deal with European problems because everyone is in it but now we bypass it. From that point of view, what is so sad in all of this is that we do not have anyone in the Government saying, "We would love to do this or that with the UN but we cannot." There is no agenda of hope. Philip McDonagh and Erskine Childers give us the agenda of hope. That is why the notion of the triple lock holding us back is akin to crocodile tears. It is a bit like saying, "Hold my coat and hold me back." There is no agenda for the UN and we must have one. I agree with Professor Murphy that we are going on a bear hunt. We cannot go over it or under it; we have got to go through it. We have got to get back into the UN and we may end up with something beyond it but standing aside from it and demeaning it cannot address these problems.