Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Some of the Senator's contributions on the current war in Ukraine have been extremely valuable. Like others, I have been listening to his contributions on Eamon Dunphy's podcast, "The Stand". They give us all a really good insight.

This is a timely and welcome motion. The Senator is right that we should focus on light, not heat, and on what we all agree on. It is clear we all agree that there is a significant deficit in spending on our armed forces, particularly in the context of the pay and conditions of the members of those forces. I acknowledge that the Minister has taken action in this regard. To be frank, this is an issue that has been neglected for many years. Let us all get behind making those moves to ensure that military personnel, many of whom I have spoken to in Limerick, are paid what they deserve. The Senator put it correctly when he stated that a living wage is what is important.

I acknowledge the fact that the Minister is not opposing the motion. That is important, because it recognises that neutrality is something which, hopefully, we all value and that should value in the context of the contributions made. To put it in context, last year military spending globally reached $2.113 trillion. That is how much the nations of the world spent. All of the usual suspects were involved, including the US, China and Russia. That is absolutely horrendous, especially when there are millions of people starving in the Horn of Africa. To be clear, the idea that Ireland could potentially add to that sum significantly, beyond investing correctly in cybersecurity and in our Defence Forces in terms of living standards, is bizarre. How would that help the sum of humanity? As is stated in the motion, it is far better that we retain our status as an "impartial voice for peace and the de-escalation of armed conflict and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world".

The Minister attended a meeting of the Council of Europe some months ago. I pay tribute to the staff and the ambassador to the Council of Europe in particular because we have forged a very good reputation as an independent voice on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We have been able to do that because we are a country that does not have that imperial baggage, and because we have often been an independent voice for human rights. That is so important. I was lucky enough to be appointed to deal with a report on the humanitarian consequences of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. That would not have happened if I did not come from Ireland, where we have this reputation for independence and fairness.

There is a lot that we agree on. I welcome that the motion recognises the fact that we should guarantee Ireland's status as a militarily neutral state and commit to preserving that neutral status by way of a constitutional guarantee. That is important. Sinn Féin is very clear in supporting giving the people of Ireland a say in a constitutional referendum on neutrality. That is something we will do if we get into power, because it is important. The debate around neutrality is more timely than ever. Broadly speaking, we can either become more involved in the various military blocs or we can continue to be an independent and respected voice in the world.

I want to raise the issue of Shannon Airport. I am delighted that Senator McGahon also raised it. He was right to do so. The reason I am raising it is because it is a clear sign that we have not been militarily neutral. Some 3 million US troops have gone through the airport over the past 20 years. It is a matter of more than regret that, unfortunately, neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael have ever had a word to say about the matter. Earlier this year, there was a presentation in the audiovisual room at which we were told that the US advisers who help the Saudi dictatorship drop the bombs on Yemen, where 400,000 people have been murdered in another illegal war, all travelled through Shannon Airport. How on earth can we speak with credibility about neutrality if we ignore that particular elephant in the room? I agree with Senator Malcolm Byrne when he talks about shared values. The difficulty I have is when we are not consistent in our shared values. I will provide a concrete example of that. When we send a Cabinet Minister to Saudi Arabia to talk about and tout for business and, days after he leaves, the Saudis execute 81 civilians, where on earth are our shared values? They killed another 17 people in executions in the past few days. I got a statement from the Department earlier this year. To my shock and horror, it did not contain one word of condemnation of the Saudi dictatorship. If we are going to talk about values, let us be consistent.

I want to end on a positive note. This motion is very timely. It is good to hear a broad consensus that neutrality is the correct way forward. I commend Senator Clonan for his work on it. This is the time for a debate and those of us who believe passionately in neutrality are prepared to make our case. More importantly, we are prepared to let the people of Ireland have their say on this issue.