Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Maybe so. I believe the world has become very unstable. Countries and military blocs are becoming more combative with their interactions and diplomacy is at a low ebb internationally. At the same time we see the EU is tooling up militarily.

Ireland has a proud record of neutrality, which should be cherished, protected and enhanced. We should be able to reaffirm our commitment to a different type of international politics, one that is focused on peace, justice, equality and human rights. My colleagues, Deputies Crowe and Ó Snodaigh, have introduced constitutional amendment Bills in this Chamber previously to ensure Irish neutrality would be further enhanced within the Constitution.

Some might believe the EU has a benign influence on international affairs but it is not without flaw. It is not long ago since we saw EU countries support armed and masked protesters who took over the buildings of the elected government in the Ukraine. We saw what happened there. It set in train the secession of Crimea and the ramping up of east-west tensions. The French have a long history of military activity in north Africa as well.

The purpose of PESCO is to give EU member states the ability and autonomous capabilities for military actions, removing the need for NATO and the support of the US. I believe this is part of a significant acceleration towards federalist demands for broader militarisation of the EU's foreign policy, increased integration and increased European defence.

4 o’clock

I would ask the question have they learned nothing. The more we integrate the EU, the more EU scepticism we create. PESCO is part of that continuum of EU integration. We are long past what is a tolerable level of EU integration. The desire of the EU federalist elite to integrate Europe further is the greatest existential threat to the EU at the moment. These are, in part, the reasons why we see euroscepticism in Britain and elsewhere.

The idea of PESCO is firmly rooted in Articles 42 and 46 of the Lisbon treaty, which require member states to make troops available and to commit to consistently upgrading military capabilities. PESCO would give the EU the ability to participate outside NATO and UN structures in conflicts in certain areas, for example, should conflict arise again in the former Yugoslavia, Libya or Syria.

PESCO is the polar opposite to neutrality. For example, it will force Ireland to bring military spending up to NATO levels of 2%. Deputy Durkan referred to the need to respect our military and the Army and to invest more money. That is for sure. We should pay them a decent wage, for God's sake. Army personnel had to take a 24-hour event outside the Houses of the Oireachtas recently to ensure families could earn enough to live properly in this country. We should absolutely pay them more, but there is no need to go down the route of massive militarisation to achieve that goal.

I have a problem with the fact that politics internationally likes euphemisms too much. People use words such as "peacekeeping" as a fig leaf for military advancement. Indeed, we remember Mr. Bush going to war against Iraq in the first instance in an effort to safeguard world peace. I have no doubt that PESCO will be using the same words in the same way. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, made an important point earlier. He said there is an opportunity cost in this regard. Every euro the Government spends on upgrading military capabilities in the State is a euro taken out of the pockets of people who are struggling to live, get a house over their heads, access health care and educate their children. There is a stark choice before us. I urge the Oireachtas and the Dáil to choose the citizens of Ireland and their needs over the military elite within Europe.

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