The Real Government Policy Exposed

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday March 21, 2003 05:41 by tiny tim

The why the Government wants to let planes land at Shannon

Speech by Minister Dermot Ahern on the recall of the Dail over Iraq situation

Let me state clearly that I, like my Government and Party colleagues are clear that this present war in Iraq - like all war - is a tragedy.

The depth of agony, beyond our conceptions, may be unleashed by this war.And Ireland has no role in such a conflict.

Let us be crystal clear in this House - this war is to be deeply regretted.

And let us be clear that because of the failure of the Security Council to find agreement, and the absence of international agreement, and because of our proud, historical and political tradition of military neutrality, Ireland will not participate in this conflict.

The Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet is clear and united on this.

Can there be a sensible person in this country who does not regret the failure of efforts within the UN Security Council to reach agreement on the issue Iraqi non-compliance with the will of the United Nations?

Can there be a sensible person in this country who does not condemn the continued refusal of the Government of Iraq for more than 12 years to comply with Resolution after Resolution to disarm?

Can there be a sensible person who does not regret the recourse to war in the absence of a further resolution on this issue, despite that coalitions claims to be acting on the basis of an existing resolution?

And can there anyone who does not regret the failure of the UN to agree on a new resolution which could have forced Saddam Hussein to comply with the demands of the international community?

Our position is clear and it is consistent -

We oppose war - and we regret the failure of politics and of diplomacy.

A Cheann Comhairle,

We will continue, as we have done so for more that forty years to allow the United States make over-flight and landing facilities available to the United States.

This covers many periods of conflict and military confrontation.

And this covers periods where the US was involved in military actions without a specific UN mandate.

We have not withdrawn over-flight and landing facilities before - we cannot withdraw them now.

And none of the other countries which oppose this war have contemplated withdrawal of existing facilities from the United States.

Clearly it would be extraordinary - and it would be perceived as a belligerent act - for Ireland now to adopt such a position in regard to the United States which not even the strongest critics of war is prepared to take.

A Cheann Comhairle,

There is great luxury in Opposition. There is the luxury of making up policy day by day - without consideration for consistency, reality or real-life effect.

The Labour Party during the first Gulf War in this very House voted against a Dáil motion in support of UN resolutions on the conflict.

That position was backed by The Workers Party and by Deputy Rabbitte.

That very same Labour Party vigorously backed military involvement in Kosovo despite the absence of a Resolution.

And yet today with straight-faces they assume the role of stern advocates of the UN Resolutions as the sole justification of war.

We, on this side of the House don’t have that luxury.

We are here to Govern. That means making hard, complex and difficult decisions - and this is one of those decisions.

We have to take into account that existing - forty year - arrangement with the United States regarding over-flights.

And we have to take into account the extent to which American Foreign Policy has benefited this country.

Peace in the North of Ireland is very much a concomitant of American hands-on involvement in the peace-process.

In the absence of an honest broker, an external and rational influence, most of us will agree that the peace we enjoy today would never have been attained.We owe that to the United States.

Whilst the Deputies opposite may not feel any depth of gratitude I invite them to Louth or Monaghan or Fermanagh or Armagh where the peace dividend has delivered.

Where it exists in the form of young people who today don’t have to emigrate.

That, in many ways, is thanks to the United States.

A Cheann Comhairle,

I commend the motion to the House.

And I commed the opposition for uniting, at last, behind of that most Fianna Fáil of policies - Irish military neutrality.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.