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Neutrality has earned the Irish State significant goodwill abroad and must be enshrined in the Constitution, Sinn F\u00e9in has said.<\/p>\nNeutrality has earned the Irish State significant goodwill abroad and must be enshrined in the Constitution, Sinn F\u00e9in has said.<\/p>\n
Aengus \u00d3 Snodaigh said the party would introduce a bill to the Dail before the summer recess aimed at protecting Irish neutrality.<\/p>\n
Mr \u00d3 Snodaigh said ensuring the country remained neutral was essential to its ongoing positive relationship with other states.<\/p>\n
The defense spokesman published a report outlining Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s proposals on the issue of neutrality on Friday.<\/p>\n
In it, Mr \u00d3 Snodaigh called for a referendum to be held to amend the Constitution and for Ireland to rescind its ratification of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco), the EU military alliance.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in also wants the US military prohibited from transporting arms and military through Shannon Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccessive governments have consistently acted to undermine the principle of neutrality that has been well established since the foundation of this state,\u201d Mr \u00d3 Snodaigh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2002 and despite the overwhelming public opposition to such a measure, Shannon Airport has effectively been used as a forwarding base for the US military.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that recently Fine Gael MEPs had produced a policy document that argued for the abandonment of Ireland\u2019s neutral position and full participation in an EU military alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnsurprisingly, the current Fine Gael-led government has not disassociated itself from such proposals and has furthered Ireland\u2019s involvement in the EU military alliance, Pesco,\u201d Mr \u00d3 Snodaigh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that this Government cannot be trusted to protect neutrality and I believe it is time for the Irish people to have the final say on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with 24 other EU member states Ireland joined Pesco last December.<\/p>\n
The EU body aims to increase defense capabilities and co-ordination between member states so the EU can better respond to security threats.<\/p>\n
Opposition TDs raised concerns at the time that it could undermine Ireland\u2019s policy of neutrality and some argued joining Pesco could be the first step towards being part of an EU army.<\/p>\n
In the report Sinn F\u00e9in claimed signing up to Pesco was \u201ccompletely unnecessary\u201d as it was assumed by other EU states that the Irish state would not participate in the alliance as a result of its neutrality.<\/p>\n
It also said Ireland was in a strong position to advance a policy of \u201cpositive neutrality\u201d given the state has extensive experience of peace-keeping and conflict resolution.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the country\u2019s neutrality was once again debated after the attempted assassination of a former spy in the UK.<\/p>\n
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland was not neutral when it came to the use of chemical weapons and cyber-terrorism.<\/p>\n