Neutrality pledge meaningless: Greens
John Gormley TD said the proposed constitutional amendment on neutrality provided a loophole which meant Ireland would be able to join a force such as NATO without a referendum.
Mr Gormley also said the Seville Declaration, in which EU leaders guaranteed last June that Ireland’s neutrality would be respected, was meaningless as it was not legally binding.
“The Irish electorate is faced with a stark choice. They can trust those who have progressively dismantled Irish neutrality over the years through successive treaties, or they can believe the Green Party whose record on the subject has been entirely consistent,” he said.
Also speaking at the launch of the Green’s neutrality campaign was Joe Noonan, a solicitor and specialist in constitutional law, who claimed the wording of the amendment on neutrality was fundamentally flawed.
He said Fianna Fáil and others were claiming the amendment meant our traditional policy of military neutrality cannot be watered down without the consent of the people in a referendum.
But Mr Noonan said its wording effectively accepted that Brussels could decide to establish a common defence.
“I now want to make it clear that a Yes vote on the 26th Amendment will not prevent Ireland joining a common EU defence.
“Instead it envisages that Ireland will join such a defence in due course and sets out the procedures by which this could happen,” Mr Noonan said.
Sinn Féin also launched a campaign yesterday aimed at highlighting what it saw as the dangers that Nice posed to our neutrality.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that instead of taking steps towards establishing a European Army, the United Nations should instead be strengthened.
He added: “I think the re-running of the referendum shows the kind of EU envisaged in the Nice Treaty,” he said.
“I don’t think Germany, France or Britain would be doing this again if they rejected the treaty.”
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