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

Ireland's position of military neutrality is an honourable tradition. As we speak in this Chamber, we are surrounded by the busts of the heroes of 1916, who took their stand in the midst of the First World War. In that awful war, tens of thousands of Irish nationalists and unionists were slaughtered. That has been burned into the minds of the Irish people ever since, such that when we achieved independence for 26 of our 32 counties, we would be separated from imperialism and empire and we would have our own, independent foreign policy. That approach over the decades has served us well but, let us be honest, it has been undermined again and again by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led Governments.

An independent foreign policy and military neutrality give Ireland the unique opportunity to be honest brokers in conflict resolution throughout the world. It is the reason our peacekeepers, in blue helmets or blue berets, are so respected internationally. In our experience of conflict, those involved in our peace process have travelled to the Basque Country, Sri Lanka, Colombia and the Middle East to try to build peace. Military neutrality, as Deputy Brady said, can be active neutrality and can play a positive role in the world if we truly believe in it. We need to learn from all the conflicts of recent times that if Ireland had a Government that truly believed in active neutrality, we could play a significant role in conflict resolution internationally, and more so than we have done. We have not taken the opportunity. We have not built on the considerable respect for the peacekeepers in our Defence Forces, of whom we are immensely proud. Rather than go down the road too many in Fine Gael have gone down, to move towards scrapping our military neutrality, we need to embrace it and take the opportunity that is there.

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