Hanafin: Protest is legitimate but neutrality is protected

The Government chief whip has said the same old arguments about neutrality have proved groundless for the past thirty years and that they're groundless now.

The Government chief whip has said the same old arguments about neutrality have proved groundless for the past 30 years and that they're groundless now.

TD Mary Hanafin maintains that Ireland is a peace-keeping nation.

She says that by voting yes in the upcoming Nice Treaty referendum, we are copperfastening neutrality.

She says that the anti-war protest in Shannon airport today was legitimate but that Ireland's role in the United Nations security council is to show that peace will be maintained.