Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It would be good to have the debate because the matter is central to our policy on neutrality. Are these issues raised when the Minister of State attends meetings at European level? The figure of €200 billion being spent by the European Union on defence is staggering. When we campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council, we use our neutrality as a selling point. We have a reputation that is far greater than our size or population would indicate. We need to be a stronger voice on defence matters and in pointing to where extra finance is really needed. We played a huge role in drawing up the sustainable development goals and getting agreement on them. It will take huge resources to implement them and make them realisable. Our EU partners that are calling for a European army are those with the biggest arms trades. They are the ones that will benefit from increased defence spending. We know what bigger armies lead to. We only have to look at what happened in Germany in the 1930s. They lead to war and do not prevent it.

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