Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Arguably one of Ireland's greatest foreign policy achievements was the so-called Irish resolutions at the UN. These are widely recognised as having brought about the first nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Ireland was of course the first country to sign it. Frank Aiken, who was then Fianna Fáil's Minister for External Affairs, was under no illusion. He recognised and stated explicitly that it was our neutrality that was key to this. Our neutrality was not simply a side effect of a state that was a former colony. No; neutrality was at the forefront of a positive and constructive foreign affairs strategy. It is what allowed us to play the role of an honest broker for that treaty.

I always knew that Fine Gael was not keen on our neutrality. To be fair to it, it was always open about that. I have to say, however, that I thought Fianna Fáil at least was different when it came to the issue of neutrality, but I was wrong. When the Tánaiste previously said that he would defend the triple lock, I naively thought he would be true to his word but again, I was wrong. This effort to whittle down our neutrality through a thousand cuts is there for all to see. It is absolutely insulting to the intelligence of the Irish people to tell us that our eyes are lying to us. It is an insult to say that all the NATO partnerships that have been entered into are not part of a long-term project to get on board.

The Minister of State and the Tánaiste could have put this to a referendum if they wanted to do the decent thing. Instead, they are trying to smuggle through customs this effort to get us into this through the back door. A Sinn Féin government would look to enshrine our neutrality in the Constitution and to leverage our neutrality as part of a positive foreign policy which places peace and diplomacy at the forefront, rather than outsourcing our military decision-making to larger powers. Now is the time to strengthen our neutrality rather than abandon it.

Tá an chuma ar an scéal go bhfuil an Tánaiste náirithe mar gheall ar an bpolasaí neodrachta atá againn. Shíl mé go raibh Fianna Fáil agus an Tánaiste i bhfabhar an pholasaí neodrachais atá againn ach ón méid atá feicthe agam le roinnt míonna anuas, tá cuma iomlán difriúil ar an scéal. Tá neodrachas mar chuid lárnach agus mar chroílár an pholasaí ghnóthaí eachtracha atá againn sa Stát seo. Tá a fhios againn ar fad go gcreideann an pobal inár neodrachas. Fiú nuair a bhí na fóraim sin ar siúl ag an Rialtas agus an Tánaiste agus é ag dul chuig ceantair agus cathracha éagsúla, nuair a tháinig sé go Gaillimh agus nuair a chuaigh sé go Corcaigh bhí sé soiléir go raibh formhór na ndaoine i bhfabhar an pholasaí neodrachta atá againn. Feiceann muid fiú sna pobalbhreitheanna go bhfuil tacaíocht an phobail leis an neodrachas. Tá sé fíorthábhachtach go ndéanaimid é sin a chosaint. Tá agus bhí ról láidir againn go hidirnáisiúnta mar gheall ar an bpolasaí neodrachta atá againn. Tá sé sin feicthe againn sna Náisiúin Aontaithe fiú le gairid anuas. Mar a dúirt mo chomhghleacaí an Teachta Cronin, tá sé le feiceáil arís eile maidir leis an méid atá ag tarlú i nGaza nó sa Phalaistín faoi láthair cé chomh tábhachtach is atá sé go bhfuil guth láidir neodrach againn ag an staid seo. Ba chóir dúinn chuile shórt a dhéanamh chun é sin a chosaint.

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