Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ireland’s tradition of military neutrality is an honourable one. Unfortunately, too many governments have missed the opportunity it provides. Despite the huge respect our UN peacekeepers, the blue helmets, have attained across the world, and despite the role in conflict resolution those of us in Ireland have played in Sri Lanka, Colombia, the Middle East and the Basque Country, the opportunity has been repeatedly wasted. We have had a half-hearted approach to military neutrality from the parties that sit across the Chamber for far too long. They have actively undermined it in the approach to Shannon Airport, for example, for so many years. They have not believed in it. It was there in words but not in practice.

It is an honourable tradition. It comes from us being victims of empire for so long and rejecting any military alliances that give any support for that type of imperialism or empire-building approach. It means that we have the opportunity to play a role in conflict resolution around the world and actively seek out that position internationally. I do not believe we have ever done that, really.

Perhaps we could be playing a far more considerable role right now, for example. We have a seat on the UN Security Council. That seat was won, in my opinion and that of many others, because of our position of military neutrality. Governments across the floor of this Chamber have wasted the opportunity for far too long, however. There needs to be a passionate embracing of that policy and a backing up of the role of our UN peacekeepers and many superb diplomats and peacebuilders we have had over the years.

We have had experience of conflict resolution in the last 20 years. It is ongoing on this island but we have not utilised it enough. Indeed, the people who were involved in that peace process are the people who went to Sri Lanka, Colombia, the Basque Country and the Middle East. To a lesser extent, our own governments were formerly involved in it, even though we are militarily neutral. We are not politically neutral, though. We can condemn and stand up against wanton acts of brutality such as we have seen from the Russian Government in recent times. We can support sanctions and support confronting this across the world. We can do all that and maintain military neutrality.

I welcome the debate on military neutrality. I welcome also challenging those who did not stand by it for far too long. They talked about it but they never stood by it. They never delivered the full potential of it internationally. They left it to others who were involved in peacebuilding on this island to fulfil the role of conflict resolution and that is the reality. They also did not build on the huge respect, and I will say it again, for our UN peacekeepers - our blue helmets, the thousands of Irish men and women who kept the peace around the world because we are militarily neutral. The Government failed them by not building on it. It failed those involved in the peace process in this country by not building on it, and now it appears it is going to fail again in this moment in which we could play a much more constructive role in peacebuilding and bringing this conflict to an end.

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