Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate on international security and trade. Of course, there are very particular dangers facing Ireland in respect of the international trajectory of trade policy, ones we must be very cognisant of and ones we must be very committed to addressing head on in a way that protects the very important FDI sector and recognises that we have paid a price for the failures of successive Governments to adequately and consistently support indigenous enterprises to allow us to withstand global shocks when they occur. What protects us in trading terms is our greatest protection as a State and that is our positioning in the world. This is the proud legacy we have earned from previous generations who upheld Ireland's right to have an independent foreign policy and ensured we had neutral status that allowed us to be voices for peace, conflict resolution and dialogue in the world. Let us make no mistake about it: the trajectory the Government is setting us on is one that moves us away from that proud legacy.

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