Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The Government has very cynically used Putin's imperialist and brutal invasion of Ukraine to drive a coach and horses through what is left of the idea of neutrality. Last week the Minister, Deputy Coveney, said that Ireland will participate in the EU's training mission for the Ukrainian army expected to get under way in mid-November. It is very clear that this is the next step in the Government's determined effort to involve Ireland in European and eventually NATO military undertakings. It comes alongside the fact that the Irish Government has now participated in five meetings of the Ukraine contact defence group, a group described by the US Secretary of Defence as a NATO alliance, a body which meets at the NATO headquarters at the US air base of Rammstein in Germany. It comes alongside the escalation of Ireland's involvement in PESCO and the provision of military equipment to Ukraine. The Government is doing all of this in open defiance of the wish of an overwhelming majority of people to remain neutral from all of the imperialist military blocs that are a scourge on the people of the world. It is also doing it without any vote under Article 28 of the Constitution which states clearly that the State shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dáil Éireann. Will the Government stop this attack on neutrality and instead focus on real solidarity with Ukrainian people, call for cancellation of the debt, shut down the shadow banking system here and provide housing for Ukrainians and all refugees and homeless people here?

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