Irish military neutrality is a policy to which the Government is deeply committed. Ireland, however, has never been ideologically neutral nor morally indifferent to the major international and security challenges of the day. Ours is not a rigid neutrality, frozen in time and isolated from the evolving international security realities. Ireland's neutrality originated as an important expression of sovereignty and became practically possible in 1938 when the British returned the treaty ports to Irish control. Irish neutrality has not been imposed from outside nor is it guaranteed by international treaty. It is a policy espoused by successive Governments and its core defining characteristic is non-membership of military alliances. Our neutrality has gone hand in hand with a strong commitment to international co-operation for stability and security.