Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I really think he should consider his position in respect of what he has told us. Repeatedly through this, the chair told us we were not listening when various Government spokespeople said they were not getting rid of neutrality or changing it. Quite clearly, that is wrong. At the very least I would have asked that the report have a different title as the start of a conversation. It should have been "What does neutrality mean?" How do we make it work in the world as a neutral country and make our voices heard now more than ever? How do we do that? Instead, we have framed the whole thing from beginning to end and we have been ostracised and labelled as people who are not rational. I am a very rational human being and a female TD and I do not stand over Government policy on changing our neutrality. We should make it mean something when we need it in the world.

If we look at the backbenchers from Fianna Fáil and we look at the Green Party, Deputy Eamon Ryan told us the triple lock was essential less than a year ago. O'Dea told us we should stop fiddling around and talking about it, keep it and get onto the things that matter. Here we are today with a speech of eight pages and right in the middle, we say we are going to change the triple lock. Up to this point we were changing the triple lock because of Russia and it was about Russia misusing the veto. Nobody looked at America or chose not to refer to them. Professor Ray Murphy states that a quick review of the use of the veto shows how the US has most often exercised this prerogative, especially in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict. In 2002, 21 years ago, the US threatened to use its veto to prevent the renewal of all UN operations in its effort to evade the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. It has continued, of course, to evade the jurisdiction of that court. The same professor outlines that the UN is often dysfunctional and inefficient but it remains the most important international organisation with responsibility for peace and security.

I say shame on the Tánaiste and on any backbencher who backs this instead of standing up for a neutral policy that means something now more than ever when we need voices for peace. Absolute shame on you.

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