Dáil debates

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

An Bille um an Ochtú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Neodracht) 2018 : An Dara Céim [Comhaltaí Príobháideacha] - Thirty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Neutrality) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

9:35 pm

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While the Government does not support this Bill, we welcome the opportunity to once again reaffirm this Government’s wholehearted commitment to Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.

It is a policy underpinned by constitutional provisions which set out Ireland’s principles and beliefs, including that co-operation among nations is founded on international justice and morality and the adherence to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. These principles are at the very heart of our foreign policy, and of our broader engagement on the world stage. However, this Bill would potentially serve to undermine this international role and could curtail Ireland’s efforts to contribute to the achievement of international peace and security. On that basis the Government is opposing the Bill.

Our long-standing policy of military neutrality remains a crucial element of Ireland’s foreign policy, as articulated in the statement of foreign policy, The Global Island, approved by the Government in January 2015. This was further reinforced in the ten-year strategy on defence, set out in the White Paper on Defence, approved by the Government in July 2015 and committed to in the 2016 programme for Government. I understand this Bill has been put forward due to concerns about foreign military aircraft, in particular those from the US, landing at our airports. This is an issue I have addressed many times in the Dáil, but I am happy to correct any misconceptions.

Facilitation of landing requests for foreign military aircraft does not alter or breach Ireland's policy of military neutrality. Such requests must meet a number of conditions, including that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives, and do not engage in intelligence gathering, nor can the flights form part of military exercises or operations. We impose these conditions to ensure compatibility between these arrangements and our neutrality. Governments have made landing facilities at Shannon available to the US for over 50 years. These arrangements do not amount to any form of military alliance with the US.

It has also been suggested that this Bill would protect Ireland’s policy of military neutrality from the increased militarisation of the EU. I hear increasingly aggressive language making that assertion. I completely reject that view of the EU. The European Union is an organisation borne of a desire to end war and division, founded on the principles of peace, security and human rights. Robert Schuman, in his famous declaration of 9 May 1950, stated that the aim of this European integration was the foundation of a European development indispensable to the preservation of peace. These are principles that Ireland shares and holds dear, and Ireland is proud to be part of an organisation that upholds and acts on those beliefs, whether it be through the provision of development aid and humanitarian assistance, or the upholding of human rights and democracy. Listening to some in this House one might think that the EU is some kind of war monger.

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