Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Many points have been raised that to be frank and respectful are extraneous to the Bill at hand. In the short time available to me, with due respect to Deputy Wallace, I propose to respond to the Bill itself. I will leave it to the historians to testify to the verbosity and veracity of some of the points that have been made by Members opposite. It has been an interesting debate with some very lively contributions. I sincerely thank Deputy Wallace for introducing the Bill. Three weeks ago, the Government made clear in relation to a separate Private Members' Bill that it did not consider it necessary or desirable to incorporate provisions on neutrality into the Constitution. This House debated and subsequently voted against the Bill. My view and that of the Government is that was the correct decision.

The conclusion that the proposed legislation in this area is unnecessary and undesirable applies even more strongly to the Bill before us today. This is a Bill which serves no useful purpose in the modern era. Some of the sentences that were parsed from the speech I made earlier have been used out of context. I would welcome a future opportunity to elaborate on that but my time today is restricted. The 1907 convention must be considered in the grand historical context and that is what is pertinent to the Bill and the wording that is proposed in terms of the change to the Constitution. The Bill is not necessary because the Government remains committed to the policy of military neutrality followed by successive Governments over decades. The commitment has been reconfirmed in the Global Island review which states: "Our policy of military neutrality remains a core element of Irish foreign policy." It may only be referred to twice but it is there and it is inherent within Government policy. The Bill is also unnecessary given that the Constitution already commits Ireland to "the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation amongst nations" and to "the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes."

The strict conditions under which our Defence Force personnel may be deployed overseas are set out in legislation. Our neutrality is also fully respected by the EU treaties and confirmed by the protocol on the concerns of the Irish people to the Treaty of Lisbon. Some of the Members opposite must reflect on their position in regard to that same treaty when it was put before the people. The Government is of the view that as well as being unnecessary, incorporation of the proposed amendment into the Constitution would not be desirable. Deputy Wallace's Bill would have us insert into the Constitution a binding reference to a convention concluded more than a century ago. This is a convention ratified by just 33 countries, 13 of them members of NATO.

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