Mr. Joe Noonan:

Is the UN fit for purpose? No. Is it therefore to be sidelined completely? No, it has a value. There are things that happen there that need to happen and would not otherwise happen so well. That is a mixed answer. Should we ever contemplate joining NATO, a nuclear-armed treaty organisation that has declared it is willing to use nuclear weapons? For very good reasons Ireland has historically always been completely opposed to that philosophy and outlook. That informs my answer to the Senator’s question about NATO. That is why I highlighted the direction of travel from Kallas.

In relation to neutrality and defending ourselves, successive Governments should have had a far more professional approach to how we developed, managed, trained and remunerated the members of our Defence Forces and the Reserve. That has been terribly lacking. Everyone knows that. I am not quite sure how that has happened. That has to be addressed. That is hugely important. I will say no more. All the members knows the importance of that.

Do we have to defend ourselves to be neutral? That is a quasi-legal point that is bound in the historical rules around neutrality. Irish neutrality is a thing of its own. We have to sort out our Defence Forces and our view on how we engage with the world. We use the word "neutrality", but it has a different meaning when we use it as opposed to the conventions.

Is there a role for the Seanad and President? There certainly is. There is a role for the people. This, the Constitution of Ireland, is the little book that was composed a few hundred yards up the road in the Shelbourne Hotel.

It devotes itself to explaining where sovereignty comes from - it comes from the people. That is a radical statement. You will not find it in many other constitutions in our Continent. It has meaning.