Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I never said he could not. Previous Chiefs of Staff might have something to say about that as they were also capable of being nominated, but that is not at issue. It is not about a skill set but about a political decision. The Minister of State is correct in that the decision is completely in line with other policies adopted that have chipped away at our neutrality. They include the US military's use of Shannon Airport, NATO warships in Irish ports, sending Irish ships to global arms fairs and committing them to involvement in operations such as Operation Sophia, exporting arms and joining EU battle groups. We have done all of that and now want our man at the helm to be chair of the European Union Military Committee. The Minister of State knows that its current chairman has been glad-handing the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army which is known for extra-judicial killings and widespread human rights abuses. Do we want the Chief of Staff to be engaged in this also? It seems to be quite clear from the Minister of State's response that this is a prestige project which for some reason is being driven either by the Government or sections of the Defence Forces; I am not sure which. It seems that they want to be big boys playing with the fellows with big toys, but it would not be welcomed by most citizens.

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