Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will move my amendment at the end, but I want to be clear about what Minister is available, so I am giving some scope to the Deputy Leader in that regard.

It is deeply patronising to the Irish public that it has been told that somehow it inadvertently signed up to this when it signed up to the Lisbon treaty. We had that from the Taoiseach last night. Let us be very clear; in so far as issues of common defence were discussed with regard to the Lisbon treaty, it was in the form of assurances that we would not be jumping into common defence arrangements and that we would ensure and protect our unique role. I have to hand transcribed lengthy debates by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in which they assured us vigorously of that fact.The context for my proposal is that participation in PESCO is an option that is being chosen by the Government. It is not necessary. It is a disgrace to Frank Aiken, who started the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and championed neutrality for Ireland, that Fianna Fáil is supporting this move. Unfortunately, some of their spokespersons in the Dáil are cheerleading the militarisation approach. Ireland, which has been a champion of disarmament, has committed to annual increases in military spending. This money will not necessarily go to front-line soldiers and workers. PESCO will set out where it will go. This relates to common arms treaties. When I was at the cluster munitions negotiations in Ireland, I met people who had lost limbs to the kinds of munitions that are manufactured and used by-----