Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate I was reflecting on the fact that this is the first time I have been involved in a debate on this very important issue of neutrality since 2016, when I came into the House first, so I thank People Before Profit for bringing the motion forward. Neutrality has been treasured by our State since its foundation on the basis that we had made a principled decision and it is part of the Constitution that we remain neutral. However, that does not mean we do not engage with everybody across the world to try to build a better world. Neutrality has served us well internationally and served our reputation. It has also helped us to become a power, a force and an influencer within the United Nations. That is what is most important for a country like ours: that we can influence others.

Given what is happening in the world right now, we need to take stock of the turmoil and mayhem around us. These are very uncertain times. As a neutral nation, we have to be careful what we mean by being neutral. While we call it being militarily neutral, we should not be neutral when it comes to things that are being done wrong. That is why I welcome the fact the Government and Ireland have recognised Palestine as a state on its own. That sends a message that as a neutral country, we are not just silent. We have opinions and we need to get them out there.

We are a valid and respected member of the European Union. Our engagements within the Union will sometimes drag us towards a common policy on defence and how to deal with wars. However, we also have to maintain and respect the fact we are a neutral country, and I believe other countries that are part of other alliances respect that too.

I wish to reflect on how we decided to be a neutral country, what has happened in the world since then and how everything has evolved.

Right now, the world, as it stands, is a very small place and easily accessible for people. One of the things we find now is that Ireland is becoming a docking station for the transportation of illegal drugs across the world, and our seas are the same. While ours is a neutral country, we have to defend our seas and our shores to make sure we are not complicit in this trade. I acknowledge the fact that serious drugs funds have been made offshore in recent years, but our Defence Forces, including the Naval Service, need to be equipped properly in order that it is not just tokenism but that we can use our own resources to make sure we can defend our own patch against that type of subversive behaviour.

It is important that we have a discussion on neutrality for the simple reason that times have changed and emphases have changed. Our neutrality is core to the foundation of our society, and we should maintain it. That does not mean we cannot debate other alliances, provided that they are non-military. That is where the concern is as to whether we are now dropping our neutrality because we are engaging with other people who may have other alliances and we are trying to steer a clear path. At the outset, however, we have to state clearly from a Government point of view and from an Opposition point of view that neutrality is our bedrock.

Truly, we need to look at what role we want to play in the world in trying to restore peace to places that are in such turmoil at the moment. That should be our focus. When we look at the number of men, women and children being killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the number rising daily, and when we see the pictures of what is happening, I do not believe we can take any part in any kind of military activity in any country. It is absolutely abhorrent.

We need to look at our economic development and, as a country that has a fantastic reputation for pharma in Galway and for digitalisation and all that goes with that, we are a global centre for a lot of that activity. We should be proud of that, but I also believe we should not allow the dividends from that to conflict with our neutrality. We should not pay any price or cede any kind of ground on the basis that there is an economic price to pay for that. The words of the Israeli ambassador this week were very unfortunate and highlighted the fact that they are trying to use their connections with business across the world as an influence to say, "Do it our way or we will not trade with you." That is the wrong way to do business, and if we are doing business ourselves globally, we need to be able to hold our heads up high and we need to take on the business that we can support and that we know is not in any way connected with the violence going on in the world today.

We have a lot to talk about as regards neutrality and how we define it going forward. We definitely need to have more of a discussion on this, maybe a people's assembly and a referendum to make sure we copper-fasten this into the future.

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