In another move to whittle away Irish neutrality, the government is preparing to join a NATO exercise to monitor undersea cables in the Atlantic.
It is another excuse for whipping up the sentiment ‘let’s join NATO for protection’.
But the biggest threat in the Atlantic comes from the British navy which has regularly cut the nets of fishermen. It is absurd to think that Russia, which is bogged down in Ukraine, wants to open up another war front.
We should call out the games that this government is playing to get us to agree to eventually join NATO.
What a pity then that there are reports that Sinn Féin will not call for withdrawal from Partnership for Peace. This is a ‘partnership’ alliance with NATO and is usually the first step before countries fully join it.
It is also reported that Sinn Féin will not withdraw from PESCO if they form the next government.
This commits Ireland to spend 2% of its GDP on defence – which would mean a fivefold increase in military spending
When the country is facing the worst housing crisis ever, we should not be increasing spending on defence but rather on housing.
If this is not true, Sinn Féin should come out and strongly deny the Irish Times reports. If they do not, this is a grave retreat from genuine neutrality.