Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)

I oppose the Defence (Amendment) Bill because it facilitates the integration of the Irish Army into European Union battle groups and because I see it as another step in the drift from traditional Irish neutrality towards Irish participation in a militarised European Union super-state.

The important issue of Irish neutrality, and the increasing militarisation of the European Union, was the decisive issue in the defeat of the first referendum on the Nice treaty. The Government was then forced by public opinion to respond by introducing the triple lock mechanism to prevent the participation of Irish soldiers in foreign military operations unless those operations were clearly mandated by the UN and sanctioned by the Dáil and the Government. This was always simply a public relations exercise to reassure the Irish people on the neutrality and militarisation issues and so win support for the second Nice referendum. It has now clearly become expendable.

It would have been far preferable and would have shown genuine commitment on these issues had the Irish Government acted in a manner similar to the Danish Government and introduced a legally binding protocol to exclude Ireland from the whole process of militarisation of the EU. Instead, the Government joined the NATO-led Partnership for Peace and reneged on the commitment to hold a referendum on the issue. In 2004 it participated in the European Union Ministers' authorisation for the creation of the European Defence Agency, allied now to its Western European Armaments Group.

All of this is the context in which the Irish Army will be integrated into European Union battle groups. Any objective analysis of the military equipment will show that these battle groups are geared for war, not for rescuing people from humanitarian emergencies.

I support the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, which is organising in defence of Irish neutrality and against the militarisation process, the worst aspect of which is the use of Shannon Airport by the US occupation forces in their war on Iraq.

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