Time for Ireland to get off the fence and face up to real world

BEING a small nation with little clout Ireland produces its own unique solutions to problems. It has been one of the ways we manage to hold our own in the EU.

Ireland used the formula recently when suggesting the Union refuses to take sides in the pro and anti-war debate and instead place it firmly in the hands of the UN.

This formed the basis of a common position taken by the EU leaders before war broke out but which was broken before the ink was dry.