Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Boyhan's proposals about the speaking arrangements for the incitement to hatred Bill this afternoon.

I echo the condolences for former Senator Paul Coghlan and his family. One of the recurring themes in the comments made is the collegiality he brought to the Chamber. Since I arrived here, I have experienced that generosity and collegiality from colleagues. It is a great legacy and long may it continue in both of these Houses.

In that spirit of collegiality, I wish to bring to the attention of the House yet again the fact that we still do not know the names or identities of the speakers for the Tánaiste's consultative forum on neutrality. We are going to have them in the University of Galway, in University College Cork and in Dublin Castle. We are barely two weeks away from it and we still do not know who the speakers are. We we do not know by what mechanism they have been selected or on what basis their expertise is predicated. It is an important debate and discussion. I welcome it but we should have had a citizens' assembly on neutrality. I personally believe it is a very important cornerstone of our foreign policy and one that has served us very well. There is no advantage whatsoever to Ireland joining NATO. In the case of the consultative forum, I have no doubt that the speakers will have expertise but the fact that their selection and appointment, and even their identities at this point, seems shrouded in secrecy raises a question. What is the purpose of the consultative forum if we do not even know in advance who the speakers are, what their intellectual or ethical formation is or where their expertise lies? I ask that we prevail upon the Department of Foreign Affairs to identify the speakers without delay today and to explain the manner of their selection.