Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

How will the Government defend our neutrality in the face of the increasing militarisation being pushed by Ursula von der Leyen? We cannot do both. Ursula von der Leyen has clearly said that she wants to ramp up spending on defence. How does the Minister of State square that with Irish neutrality? We always hear the Government and the Minister of State say that we have to be cognisant of European members and their views. Yet, at the same time, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is coming out with these increasingly radical, extreme positions. How can that be squared with maintaining our neutrality?