Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

It is black and white. It is like asking somebody whether he or she is a virgin. One must be one or the other. That is the way neutrality must be dealt with. This country must wake up and deal with it. I believe in the principles of the United Nations – that must be foremost. We must continue doing as we are in terms of peacekeeping and humanitarian work and in the Petersberg tasks. It is good, however, to open up a debate such as this. The people need to discuss this. They need to hear the debate and be involved in it and we must hear their decision. It is time Ireland took its place in Europe, stood by its neighbours and stopped sitting on the fence.