Time for Ireland to rethink neutrality, say FG’s four MEPs

IRELAND should reconsider its neutrality and commit more funds to the European defence budget, according to Fine Gael’s four MEPs.

Brian Hayes, Mairéad McGuinness, Deirdre Clune and Seán Kelly all believe Ireland should join a Defence Union of the EU and amend the ‘triple-lock’ hurdle for deploying members of the Defence Forces overseas.

The views were set out in a discussion paper, published yesterday, entitled Ireland And The EU: Defending Our Common European Home.

Mr Hayes yesterday argued that Ireland had signed up to neutrality in a different era, and it was time to follow the lead of countries such as Finland and Sweden in examining our neutrality. He said it was time to ‘move beyond slogans and start to debate the real security needs of Ireland and those of the EU’. He added that Ireland should have a voice at the table on defence discussions. ‘There is a push on the part of some member states to have a firmer defence union, a security and defence union, and we’re saying, as a group of Fine Gael MEPs, we should be part of that debate, we should be around the table.

‘We shouldn’t leave it to France and Germany. We should be part of the discussion, to reflect our own values, our own traditions, our own unique circumstances, as part of that debate, to get a good outcome from this.’ The group say they are opposed to the creation of an EU army, which they do not believe will occur.

But they say the growing threat of Russia and the need for EU cooperation on cyber terrorism should at least encourage Ireland to rethink its status as a neutral country.