Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The consultative forum on international security policy appears to be the exact opposite to consultation. The chair, who has been picked by Government and not ratified, will oversee four public hearings and then from a response to a parliamentary question it appears it will be charged with preparing a report. That is the exact opposite to the ethos and principle that underpinned the citizens' assembly to which the Government had committed. A response to a parliamentary question from the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to the Tánaiste does not reference the word "neutrality" at all, yet it mentions that the forum will examine our current and future engagement with NATO. Does the Taoiseach understand why so many Irish people who value our very proud tradition of military neutrality and non-alignment are concerned about the approach that is being taken?

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