In a statement this afternoon, Richard Boyd Barrett TD said that the statement by the Taoiseach as he addressed the European Parliament today, that there is no need for a referendum for Ireland to join NATO, shows how we urgently need such a referendum to ensure our neutrality is more fully enshrined in the constitution of the state.
The People Before Profit TD said: “The Ukrainian crisis is appalling and is entirely the fault of the murderous Putin regime in Russia. However, the last thing we need is to escalate militarisation or join NATO which is dominated by warmongering powers such as US and UK who launched their own bloody wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and continue to support Saudi Arabia as it slaughters and starves the people of Yemen.
He continued: “The Irish state was established in a struggle against empire and World War I. To attack our neutrality strikes at the heart of Irish identity and will also destroy our reputation internationally. We need to positively assert our neutrality and build relationships and alliances that promote peace and oppose all wars.
“All recent opinion polls have shown that two thirds of Irish people want to hold on to our neutrality.”