I welcome the appointment of Lynn Boylan, Sinn Féin's Dublin MEP, to the security and defence committee. She will be a powerful voice in the EU for Irish neutrality and against a militarised Europe. Irish Army personnel are renowned for peacekeeping missions around the world in war-torn countries, not for going off to fight other people's wars. They are renowned for bringing peace to areas where truces and ceasefires are brittle. We have a proud history of peace and conflict resolution but the Government is asking us to get into bed with countries that are not only defending, but arming a genocide. The lack of meaningful action in the defence of international law is weakening the foundations of multilateralism. Indeed, by abandoning the protection of the triple lock that grounds our neutrality, the Government is signalling to the world that it does not believe in the UN. While the UN has its flaws, it still represents the best opportunity to engage in dialogue rather than conflict and loss of life. Reference was made to the programme for Government but one thing included in that programme that the Government has not brought forward is the occupied territories Bill. The Government brings an amendment to the motion to the House but not the occupied territories Bill. It was said earlier that there is a reason for the Government not supporting the proposal to hold a referendum to enshrine neutrality. What is the Government so afraid of? It is afraid of the voice of the people of Ireland because they have said in the Nice and Lisbon treaty referenda that they do not support the ending of our neutrality. They do not support Irish soldiers going to fight other wars on behalf of the people who colonised this country and the people who are arming and participating in genocide. We want nothing to do with those people. If the Government is really serious about the Irish people and democracy, it should hold a referendum. It is in its hands.

Sentiment score: 0.03