Tairgim: "Go léifear an Bille an Dara hUair anois."
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I intend to share time with Deputies Seán Crowe, Paudge Connolly, Joe Higgins, Jerry Cowley and John Gormley. I have ten minutes. In April 2001, I moved a neutrality Bill in the Dáil, and I pledged that when we had sufficient strength in the House we would progress it to Second Stage. I am glad to do so now, and the very strength in numbers of those progressive parties and Independent Deputies here today who support Irish neutrality is itself a testament to the growing demand of the Irish people for truly independent Irish foreign policy.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2003 could not be more timely. Last weekend witnessed the largest political demonstrations in Ireland and around the world in our lifetimes. None of us will ever forget the sight of 100,000 people transforming the streets of our capital city and demanding that the Irish Government oppose the threatened US-British war on Iraq. These were not people marching for material gain or sectoral interests. This was a demonstration of selflessness and idealism and a declaration that the policy and actions of the Irish Government should be, in the words of Article 29.1 of the Constitution, "founded on international justice and morality".
This Government has strayed very far from the principles set out in Article 29. Throughout its two terms of office since 1997, it has steadily eroded Irish neutrality and independent foreign policy. This was done by joining NATO's so-called Partnership for Peace without the referendum promised by the Taoiseach, by signing the treaties of Amsterdam and Nice and, most recently and most shamefully, by the Government's conduct in the current international crisis. Irish neutrality is in tatters after the Government's mishandling of international affairs and this Bill is designed to re-establish our neutrality on a solid foundation.
In an effort to mollify public opinion when it entered NATO's PFP in 1999, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued an explanatory guide which makes interesting reading today. It stated that Ireland had never been "morally indifferent to the major international and security challenges of the day". Yet what can we call the attitude of this Government now but "morally indifferent"? There is no basis of principle for its policy and it acts not only as if it were already a member of NATO but a member of the US-British faction of that now divided camp.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has stated: "Irish military neutrality is a policy to which this Government is deeply attached. It is a policy espoused by successive Irish Governments and its core defining characteristic is non-membership of military alliances." Very well, then. If that is the case, let the Minister of State's Government support and, indeed, adopt this Bill. I would be happy to hand it to him.
I turn now to the Bill's provisions. Article 28 of the Constitution currently reads: "War shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dáil Éireann." We seek to amend Article 28 to read: "War shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war or other armed conflict, nor aid foreign powers in any way in preparation for war or other armed conflict, or conduct of war or other armed conflict, save with the assent of Dáil Éireann." It has been argued that the Government is already in breach of Article 28 as it stands by facilitating US troops and military material at Shannon. The Hague Convention in Chapter 1 on the rights and duties of neutral powers, Article 5, states that a neutral power must not allow belligerents to move troops or convoys of either munitions of war or supplies across its territory. The Government is in clear breach of the Hague Convention. It may claim that war has not commenced, but the US and Britain are already carrying out bombing raids on Iraq. If a full-scale attack commences and the Government continues to allow the use of Shannon, it will definitely be in breach of the Hague Convention.
It is felt necessary to include the words "or other armed conflict" because the definition of war in international law may be too narrow. I cite the example of Vietnam, where the US was never technically at war with the north Vietnamese. This matter has been considered by the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution in discussions on its draft report on Government, which is covered by Article 28. It has been proposed that the words "other armed conflict" be added to 28.3.1º.
Our proposed amendment seeks to put the responsibility of Government beyond doubt. It would prevent a Government acting as this one has done without a vote of the Dáil. The kind of underhand and dishonest approach we have seen would be precluded because the Government would be accountable to this House. Taken together with our proposed amendment to Article 29, the new Article 28.1 would ensure that Governments in future adhere to neutrality in policy and in practice.
Article 29.1 of the Constitution reads: "Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly co-operation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality." Article 29.2 reads: "Ireland affirms its adherence to the principles of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination." We seek to insert a new Article 29.3 as follows: "Ireland affirms that it is a neutral State. To this end the State shall, in particular, maintain a policy of non-membership of military alliances." This is the key provision of the Bill and would write neutrality into the Constitution for the first time. It is straightforward, as constitutional provisions should be. It is also in line with what the Government claims is its policy – non-membership of military alliances.
It is interesting that while the Government claims to follow a policy of non-membership of military alliances, it does not set out the case for non-membership. Why does it not join NATO? It is not sufficient simply to say that it will not join. It must give reasons, or else its failure to do so will be interpreted as preparation for eventual entry. NATO is a nuclear-armed military alliance of the wealthiest states in the world which are using economic and military might to maintain their dominance on this planet. It is an engine of injustice which produces poverty and inequality on a vast scale as military budgets devour the resources that should be used for a war on poverty and hunger. The military budget of the United States now stands at almost $400 billion dollars and Britain's is currently $38 billion dollars.
The end of the Cold War should also have marked the end of NATO and a renewal of the United Nations in its role of providing collective security. Instead, we have seen the authority of the UN further eroded as the dominant powers on the Security Council assert their privileged position, and never more so than in the present crisis. Ireland should lead the way in working for a reformed and strengthened United Nations. That would be positive neutrality and independent foreign policy in action. Some argue that what is needed is common defence among the EU states to counterbalance the US, and successive EU treaties have been bringing us in that direction. The last thing we need, however, is more military alliances and power blocs, and that is what the EU is sadly becoming.
This Bill provides a foundation stone for what could be a new Irish approach to international relations. So how do we build the new structure? We propose that neutrality should be written into the Constitution as provided for in this Bill. We should implement it with Government policy and legislation. The legislation would, for example, prevent the transport of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons through our territory and airspace and allow for inspection of aircraft and ships. We should withdraw from NATO's so-called Partnership for Peace and from the EU's Rapid Reaction Force. We should campaign for a reformed and strengthened United Nations as the real guarantor of collective security. The UN should be the site of our engagement on international security and peacekeeping.
Ba mhaith liom an Bille seo a mholadh don Dáil agus iarraim ar gach Teachta tacú leis. Is féidir linn, faoi dheireadh, an neodracht a chur sa Bhunreacht. Ba chóir dúinn é seo a dhéanamh le cinntiú nach mbeidh Rialtas in ann deireadh a chur leis an neodracht diaidh ar ndiaidh mar atá sé faoi láthair. Tá dualgas orainn mar Theachtaí an phobail toil an phobail a chur i bhfeidhm agus is léir, ní hamháin go bhfuil an pobal ar son na neodrachta, ach tá siad ag éileamh go neartódh an neodracht. Beidh an Bunreacht mar bunús do pholasaí an Rialtais amach anseo. Is féidir linn é sin a dhéanamh leis an mBille agus molaim é don Dáil.
Such is the importance of this issue that Sinn Féin has chosen its first opportunity of Private Members' time to promote and encourage all-party support for this proposal. I appeal to the Minister not to amend or challenge this Bill but to adopt it instead. We should stand together on this important issue.