Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am wondering if the Minister of State will answer the straight question. Will he answer the simple question of what missions this Government wishes to involve the State in that it is not currently permitted to do? If we are going peacekeeping and we are not doing it with the UN, then who are we going peacekeeping with? Will the Minister of State answer that question? I suspect not. Perhaps he will surprise me. That question will be asked dozens upon dozens of times this evening and I do not think we will get any closer to a straight answer. We will get a great deal of things. We will get a great deal of partisan polemic, ostensibly high-minded but when it comes down to it with no real substance in it and no real meaning. We will get imagined concoctions of the foreign policies that a variety of Opposition parties have to try to distract from the fact that ultimately, the Minister of State and the Government will refuse to answer the question of what missions they intend to deploy Irish troops on outside of UN structures. What are they? I certainly have not gotten any clarity on that and I do not think the Government intends to provide it.

The fact is, we are a small State. We will never be a significant military power. The credibility we have internationally, which is well established and well proven by the fact that we recently occupied a prominent position on the Security Council, is because of our diplomatic weight, because we have preserved our status as a neutral state. Tugann sé cumhacht dúinn, i bhfad níos mó ná dá mbeadh muid páirteach in aon ghníomh míleata den saghas atá roinnt den Rialtas ag iarraidh go mbeimid ag déanamh.

If the Government is serious about supporting our Defence Forces, it should ensure they have the resources to fully participate in the missions they are already committed to, because they have been weakened in doing so, and ensure the welfare and decent pay and conditions of our Defence Forces, whether in Collins Barracks, Haulbowline, Lebanon or anywhere else for that matter. That is where our focus should be - on preserving our international status. There is no question in my mind that this act has undermined our neutrality and has undermined the basis on which Irish people voted in prior referendums, and the multiple commitments that were given by previous governments on this.

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