Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We will also be supporting the Sinn Féin Bill. This is a bit mad. The abuse of language in making arguments about this issue is a somewhat disheartening. We know there is no concrete and clear commitment to neutrality in the Constitution. This has been taken advantage of by too many for too long. Our facilitation of the US military's use of Shannon Airport for the Iraq War in 2003 was criminal by any standards and made a complete mockery of any notion that Ireland is neutral. The then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, argued that facilitating the use of Shannon for the illegal invasion of Iraq was not of a sufficient degree of substance to constitute participation in the war.

I wish to refer to customary international law, namely, the Hague Convention (V) Respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land of 1907.

The convention states that a power which claims to be neutral is forbidden to allow belligerence or move troops or convoys of either munitions of war or supplies across the territory of a neutral power. That has not proven to be the case, however. The language used in the motion debated in this House in March 2003 was unreal. The motion stated that Dáil Éireann "declares its commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq". Deputy Clare Daly and I visited Iraq last year and that is not the impression one would get of what happened because the place was destroyed. One cannot invade and destroy a country and at the same time respect its sovereignty and independence. That is not the way it works. The same motion welcomed the arrangements put in place by the Government to ensure that Ireland would be able to contribute rapidly to the humanitarian effort in Iraq. The motion further stated that Dáil Éireann "recalls the long-standing arrangements for the overflight and landing in Ireland of US military and civilian aircraft" but it did not indicate that any US troops who passed through Shannon Airport up until 1999 were either going on holiday or travelling to air bases in Germany; they were not going to war. What happened in 2001, including the military incursion into Afghanistan, was a game-changer. People who pretend otherwise are being economical with the truth.

If one checks the record, in 2013, Deputy Enda Kenny questioned the use of Shannon Airport for US military purposes. Before we were elected to the House in 2011, I heard some Labour Members question the use of Shannon Airport by the US for military purposes. It is amazing the difference between what people say in opposition and what they say in government.

The truth is that, sadly, we have been linked to terrible atrocities since 2001. When the Tánaiste was present, he was defensive about the EU's peaceful role. The EU has not engaged in as much military aggression or warmongering as the US. For some time, however, I have found the its actions to be pretty disappointing. I disagree with the support of many of its member states for the war in Afghanistan. I disagree with the EU's support for the war in Iraq. I disagree with its involvement in the bombing and destruction of Libya. I disagree with it providing arms to jihadists in Syria. I disagree with its lack of constructive opposition to what Israel has been doing to Palestine for a long time. I disagree with the EU's silence on what is happening in Yemen. The most recent official figure we received indicated that 13 million people are at risk of poverty in Yemen. The US has supported the Saudi-UAE coalition in bombing the living daylights out of Yemen for a long time. That campaign started in March 2015. There is only one crowd bombing in Yemen. There is no opposition involved in bombing. Only one crowd has ever dropped a bomb from the air and it is the Saudi-UAE coalition, armed and supported by the US, the UK and France. How bad is that? How bad does it have to get in Yemen before anyone screams "Stop"?

A girls school was bombed on Sunday in Sana, Yemen. Horrific pictures show the children trying to get out of the place, losing clothes and books as they went. Does that make any impression on the European powers? Are they going to disassociate themselves from the US warmongering? The arms industry has become one of the biggest industries on the planet. In fairness to Donald Trump and his honesty, when it was put to him some months ago that perhaps it was time to stop arming the Saudis because what is happening in Yemen is not very good, he stated that more than 20,000 jobs were created by the arms the Americans are selling to the Saudis and that if they stopped selling them, those jobs would be lost. Mr. Trump also referred to all the money they get for the arms that they sell. He asked if they should stop and let the Russians or the Chinese sell arms to the Saudis instead. He stated that he did not think so. I admire his honesty because that is the truth. Mr. Obama met the Saudis in 2012 and organised a regime change in Yemen. They threw out Saleh and brought in Hadi and then sanctioned the war which started in March 2015. He did not speak with such honesty. What Obama used to do is not very much different to what Trump does now. The only difference was that he looked well, sounded intelligent and was articulate, but he was a lying so-and-so.

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