Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Social Democrats welcome this People Before Profit Bill which provides for a referendum to properly define our neutrality stance. As it currently stands, Articles 28 and 29 of our Constitution outline our position of neutrality. However, the wording around the definition of neutrality is vague, to say the least. Essentially, in the main it allows the Government of the day to determine how the country responds to threats. Irish neutrality has been a core principle of our foreign policy since the foundation of the State. It was clear during the referendums on both the Nice and Lisbon treaties that the Irish people continue to place enormous value on neutrality and our place in the world as peacekeepers.

We can understand why this Bill is before us today. The rhetoric from a number of EU leaders around common defence over the last few years and more recently by some in the Government would indicate that there is a desire to debate our position of neutrality. This is a Parliament and to debate policy means, of course, a wish to change it and so we welcome this opportunity to make very clear that we oppose any move towards a watering down of our policy of neutrality.

The unfolding of a war in real time through our televisions, social media feeds, in newspapers and on radio leaves us in no doubt as to the horror and brutality of this latest war. Of course, the war in Ukraine is one of many raging across the world today. Our hearts go out to all of those experiencing war and armed conflict, be that in Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan as well as in Ukraine and many other countries. Thousands have already died and millions are now displaced. Women and children are fleeing their homes through unsafe humanitarian corridors, sometimes crossing multiple borders to reach safety. It is estimated that 6.7 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced and 3 million are seeking refuge elsewhere. There are those who, by choice or conscription, are left behind to defend their communities, democracy and independence against a brutal regime waging an illegal and unjust war. We have watched as the Russian army has attacked civilians, mothers and babies in maternity hospitals, people with disabilities in residential care, medical staff and journalists. Putin has broken almost every international law that governs the rules of war. Countless war crimes have already been committed but it remains unclear just how far Putin will go or where and when this will end. It is a frightening time for the people of Ukraine and Russia and for the rest of the world. I am very conscious, as we talk here about being anti-war, that this is not a luxury being afforded to the people on the streets of Mariupol or Kyiv at this time. We are horrified to witness such brutality.

It is not so long ago that Ireland also experienced the horror of invasion and illegal occupation. The collective memory on this island is one of the trauma of colonisation that is still with us today. As a small country, we have endured war, violence and colonisation for centuries. It is important to assert that Ireland has never acted as the aggressor and has never been an oppressor. The very history of this country is one of fear of the threat of invasion and conquest by foreign forces. It is actually a luxury in the context of Irish history that we no longer have such a fear. The British playbook on how to wage war and how to oppress a native population, with such tactics used by them and others successfully all round the world, was written in the blood of the Irish people. The British empire trialled ways to keep the native population down, determined to destroy our autonomy, language, education and culture. We know only too well the detrimental impact that this has had, and continues to have, on our shared island.

Our peace here was hard won and came at great cost. It remains as fragile as ever. There are constant efforts in the background to ensure that our peace lasts. It is not something we can take for granted and must be consistently nurtured if it is to be retained. We are proud that we now have a generation of children who have no concept of war, and who grew up outside of the Troubles, the checkpoints, the bombings and the horror. We have worked hard for this and continue to work hard for peace. We know what it is to work towards peace and to sustain it. Peace is, to us, a process that must continue. This is exactly what gives Ireland the legitimacy to play a leading role in helping to bring about peace, to end violence, to be diplomats and to use all of our experience as well our seat on the UN Security Council, to do so.

How can we look to promote peace and stability without neutrality? We are members of the UN and uphold our obligations under the UN Charter, including chapter 7, to use our experience to help to bring about peace and security throughout the world. Our unique place on the UN Security Council furthers that legitimacy to remain militarily neutral to advance and maintain international peace and security. To be very clear, military neutrality does not mean that we remain silent and passive. Indeed, the Irish people are leading the way on this by donating generously to agencies that can help people on the ground such as the Irish Red Cross. Thousands have offered sanctuary in their own homes to those displaced by war. Irish UN peacekeepers have played a leading role in promoting peace and security for more than 60 years in many conflicts including in Lebanon, the Congo and Mali, to name but a few.

In his opening comments the Minister referred to the need to have a mature and honest debate about our shared defence. As he was speaking, I was thinking that if I was a young recruit in our naval base in Haulbowline, in McKee barracks or at the Curragh Camp, listening to a Government politician talk about "mature" debates while at the same time enforcing poverty on those who stand up and wish to engage in defence and peacekeeping missions, I would feel particularly hard done by. Any conversation in relation to our "shared defence" and the role of defence should start by determining how we can improve the pay and conditions of those who already stand up in this country, build up our defence infrastructure, invest in our radar systems and get our ships back out to sea.

We may be neutral but that does not mean we cannot act. Currently the Constitution allows the Government to decide what exactly our neutrality means. The saying goes that one should never waste a good crisis but we cannot allow this war to be used to push Ireland towards a more integrated EU common defence policy. The EU, by its very nature, is a peace process. It is a movement for peace and that is where its real success lies.

We must stand against the use of Ireland's airports as corridors to transport US troops to the Middle East and elsewhere. We must not be fooled into thinking that we have no choice but to join military alliances such as NATO. What we should be focused on is peace and stability abroad and at home. This war is sending shock waves across the world that will impact us all. We have already experienced a sharp rise in fuel prices. Fuel and food shortages are very possible, not only here but throughout the African continent, which increases the prospects of famine. We need to lead the way in combating that. Potentially, we will welcome up to 200,000 displaced people over the coming months. Our population could increase by approximately 1% in the weeks ahead. We have to play our part by being a place of sanctuary for those fleeing war and are doing so. We are doing so while knowing that we have a housing, healthcare and childcare crisis, a lack of school places and limited access to mental health services to deal with the trauma that many of those fleeing war have experienced.

I will finish by reiterating the point made by others that being neutral is not a passive position. Being neutral allows us to play our own role in world affairs, to be peacekeepers and to stand for humanitarian endeavours. If there is to be a debate about neutrality, it should be about how we can advance those policies.

See this speech in context