Éirígí For a New Republic has postered Galway city with its plans to picket the Galway West TD’s office in Woodquay this weekend, as a protest against what its members see as the Government’s attempt to dilute Ireland’s so-called military neutrality.
Speaking ahead of the picket, Éirígí Galway spokesperson, Ian Ó Dálaigh, said the fight to defend Irish neutrality is happening now, and people should not wait for a referendum to protest.
"Successive governments have been quietly eroding Irish neutrality through a series of incremental steps, from allowing NATO-linked military training on Irish soil, to openly discussing the abandonment of the Triple Lock mechanism that governs military deployments abroad,” he said.
“These actions are being taken without a public mandate, and often without public knowledge. The overwhelming popular support for neutrality is being treated not as a democratic instruction, but as a problem to be circumvented.”
As an example, Ó Dálaigh referenced an event hosted by the Defence Forces’ Ordnance School in Kildare last month, where 43 bomb disposal technicians – including from NATO-aligned militaries – attended a workshop.
In a statement, Fine Gael’s Galway West TD, Naughton, said Ireland values its military neutrality, and that this policy will continue.
“But that does not mean that we shouldn’t play our part and work with other like-minded countries in order to deliver peacekeeping missions around the world. We are doing that in places like Lebanon, where our personnel are deployed maintaining peace in this volatile region,” she said, stressing that Fine Gael is committed to preserving the military policy successive governments of Ireland have followed since the Second World War.
“We are committed to working with international partners, including the European Union and the United Nations, across a broad range of issues, from peacekeeping to conflict resolution, [and] to overseas development assistance, such as the World Food Programme,” she said.
“I am always happy to engage with members of the public on any issue, however I will be visiting a series of disability groups across the country this week as part of my role as Minister for Disability.”
