Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am supposed to be sharing time with some other Deputies. If they arrive, they arrive. If they do not, I will keep going. There is plenty of information here to keep me going for another while.

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to speak today. I thank my colleague Deputy Connolly for bringing forward this motion. It is a very detailed, well-written and sensible motion, which is why the amendment put forward by the Government is incredibly disappointing and nonsensical.

I will get to that later.

I wholeheartedly support the motion and particularly its call for the Government to hold a referendum to enshrine neutrality in our Constitution, to raise the awareness of the importance of neutrality and its contribution to global peace, and to ensure the inspection of civilian and military planes travelling through Irish airports to verify that they are lawful. This conversation is more important now than ever with the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in Palestine attracting global attention recently. It is at this time that our neutrality will mean the most and it is at this time that our voice is most important. We should be loud and proud in our calls for peace and ceasefires in the region.

Ireland is a small neutral nation. Our strengths have always been in peacekeeping and speaking out against injustice not in military might. This is something that we should be incredibly proud of and our neutrality gives us a standing. It gives us an important voice that other countries will listen to. As well as being a former colony, we also have a strength where we can bridge the gap between the EU and modern western democracies, and the former colonial states. We can have an honourable role in that regard.

Maintaining our neutrality does not mean that we condone the atrocities occurring across the world. We will always stand up for what is right and do all in our power to sanction the perpetrators and assist the victims. Again, we need to stress the importance of our focus. Our focus should always be on the victims and assisting them. Abandoning our neutrality only serves to facilitate wars and does nothing to support victims. It only serves to appease European and American leaders, which the Government is so desperate to appease despite the fact that the response from both has been constantly appalling particularly in recent weeks. America and the European Community are very quick to speak in solidarity with Israel recently, having ignored the oppression and mass bloodshed of the Palestinian people for decades. We, in Ireland, have a very proud history of speaking out against Israel's apartheid against Palestinians. Recent protests around the country have shown just how differently we view the situation compared with American and European leaders.

We have consistently shown in this country that our military neutrality does not equate to political neutrality. We always have been and always will be outspoken on international matters.

I take this opportunity to again condemn the US military's use of Shannon Airport and its ongoing criminality across the world. We cannot continue to facilitate the US in its wars. In 2022, there were 480 flights through Irish airports carrying weapons. A total of 465 of them were through Shannon Airport. That is a shocking figure that goes completely without comment here in this neutral country. In 2021, there were 259 flights through Shannon Airport. Are we facilitating war by the increase in arms-carrying flights? One thing for sure is that the Government will not ask that question because its silence about it is deafening.

Despite reassurances from the Tánaiste that the intention of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy would not be to encourage a change in Ireland's neutrality policy, that is exactly what it is trying to do. The Government's amendment to the motion continues the scaremongering regarding cybersecurity. It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that we would abandon our neutrality in order to protect our fibre-optic cables.

The Government's recent criticism of both neutrality and the triple lock, and present focus on questioning whether it is fit for purpose, are extremely concerning. The Government has claimed that Ireland cannot rely on our geographical isolation for our security, or isolate ourselves from world events. However, this could not be further from the truth. How would the fact that we are neutral mean we are isolating ourselves from world events? When in the past have we been isolated from those events? It would, in fact, increase our credibility in international relations if we were proactive. We could contribute immensely to peace talks and ceasefires across the world. The Government amendment also mentions the chair of the forum, Professor Louise Richardson, who has in the past made questionable justifications for US involvement in Chile and Cuba, as well as questionable justification for involvement in Iraq. I have previously raised concerns about her.

Worryingly, neutrality is something that we who value it are having to defend as of late. It is not necessary to be a cynic to see that war is big business. It is no surprise that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are eager for Ireland to get in on the action. We absolutely must protect our neutrality. On an international political stage, neutrality must not be confused with apathy. We care deeply for the plight of the oppressed, colonised and displaced, those who face hardship at the hands of governments, terrorists and other nations. We only need to look at the response of the ordinary people across Ireland at the shocking events and Gaza and the West Bank in recent weeks and the ongoing response to Israeli aggression against Palestinians. However, it is vital that we maintain a neutral stance in terms of engagement.

Whether we like it or not war is never straightforward. While religion or race might be cited as reasons, we can be sure that underneath it, it comes down to money and power. Oil and gas resources are the source of most conflicts if truth be known. Protecting our neutrality allows Ireland to protect the oppressed.

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