Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is heartbreaking that Ireland is following a European Union diktat which is driven by NATO. In the past, war used to be waged in order to acquire property and land for gain. Then it became a method of securing economic resources. Now it has become a means of promoting the arms industry. One does not get elected to office in America without the support of that industry. It costs $1 billion to win a presidential election campaign in the US and payback is expected in respect of any support given. A NATO-led Europe has, in turn, led us by the nose in terms of how our foreign policy is shaped and we need to put an end to that. We need to reassert our neutrality and we must no longer allow Shannon to be used as a military air base. The Irish people like the idea of neutrality and they want us to be different. They do not want us to participate in ongoing global militarisation or to become involved in wars which cause nothing but hardship and grief. Libya is a powerful example in this regard. Will the Government admit that it got it wrong in respect of this matter? Those opposite supported the bombing of Libya, which is one of the craziest events that has ever happened. We bear responsibility for what has been done. Ireland is a nation state and it backed the bombing of Libya.

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