Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Wilson referred to our track record in peacekeeping. We do not do just peacekeeping. In the late 1990s we did peacekeeping for the UN. Now we do peacekeeping and peace enforcement for the UN, NATO and the European Union when there is a UN Security Council mandate. We have participated in missions in places such as Afghanistan and Kosovo. I appreciate the moral offence that members of his party who have expressed a desire to join NATO take from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and their desire to be a part of the response to that, but I reassure them that we can do that without compromising our military neutrality or, as Senator Craughwell might say, our military alignment. That is just an observation; it is not a criticism of them.

As this issue has come up in our discussions, I wanted to propose this motion to offer the opportunity to debate the matter; that is all. I have stated previously to the Minister that disagreement is the most powerful engine for discovering the truth. To that end, I particularly welcome the contributions of Senators Martin and Malcolm Byrne - Senator McDowell and I had a brief discussion about this - in terms of exploring an alternative to the UN Security Council resolution component of the triple lock. I agree with the Minister. It restricts our discretion and our sovereign decision-making in respect of what we want to get involved in and what we do not. I wish to be clear, however. I echo the observation of Senator Higgins that, in whatever we consider, we must proactively future-proof our neutrality in that regard. We should have that discussion.

I loved the contribution of Senator McGahon. To be honest, it was like an introduction to a Netflix series. I would watch that series. It had everything, from the coastal weather-watching station to------