Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 June 2025

Committee on Defence and National Security

General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed)

2:00 am

Professor Ben Tonra:

I do not put it as desirable or undesirable; it simply is, and it is a perfectly logical strategy. The only place we differ, perhaps, is that some people invest in neutrality as some sort of idea of being good, whereas I say neutrality is essentially a mé féin policy. That is perfectly reasonable and perfectly acceptable but I do not think it is either good or bad; it just is.