Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The motion that was passed calls for an increase in defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product, GDP, in the specific context of calling for greater military build-up in the Black Sea area, which is becoming the epicentre of a new cold war and where there is a constant aggressive build-up by the US and NATO. The European Union is now pushing to get involved. Does the Minister not think that our job as a neutral country is to stand up and warn against this, and say we should not be doing this?

Is there a connection between this call to increase spending to 2% of GDP and the fact that the German Government is supporting a debt write-down for Ukraine but the Greek Government, which has called for a reduction in defence spending, is getting very different treatment from the German Government? Is this the sort of geopolitical manoeuvring that is going on and what is our view of it? Should we not be calling foul?

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