Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I think people understand where the Irish people are on the idea of neutrality. We know our own history. It is a history of colonisation and of resistance and struggle against it. That is part of the reason why we have a shared relationship with the Palestinians. It is partly a shared history of oppression and resistance to that. It has been a good week for this State in its recognition of the State of Palestine. It is something that we proposed many years ago. What we have seen with Spain and Norway is welcome and hopefully we will see many more states moving in that direction. We also know that part of the reason we can do that is because we are seen as a fair player and that we are seen as independent and independent minded. That is because we are not engaged in any degree in any military alliances or alignments. That is the way this needs to stay. Any move away from the triple lock is seen by Irish people, and can only be seen by them, as a move away from non-alignment and neutrality and yes, that will put our peacekeepers in a different situation. Our peacekeepers have always faced danger but theirs is a proud history. At times like this I remember the sacrifice of Private Seán Rooney and many others. I commend his family and his mother, Natasha, in particular.

They were recently involved in project called "the rainbows room", which was opened in Ratoath Community College. That is in Seán's memory and that is all very positive. I also welcome the fact - and I seek further information in this regard - that the Tánaiste visited Lebanon, where he said that ensuring justice for Seán Rooney is at the top of his agenda. We also have to look after our peacekeepers in the sense that we ensure justice for Seán, and we also need to make sure that we maintain how our peacekeepers are thought of across this world: as independent, as from Ireland and as not aligned with others. That goes without saying.

Not only did Ursula von der Leyen stand solidly behind genocidal Israel, but she has also spoken quite openly - I will give her that - about what she sees as a need for a greater military industrial complex in Europe. This is not what the Irish people want. This is not what the Irish people need. We need to make sure there is no further move away from neutrality.

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