No mention of neutrality in constitution

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny was questioned on RTÉ Radio This Week programme on Sunday, April 5, by Gerard Barry on the statement by (Captain) Billy Timmins TD, that Ireland should abandon neutrality and join EU common defence arrangements.

Kenny responded that: “There is a constitutional prohibition on Ireland abandoning neutrality” and then proceeded to misinterpret and downplay what Timmins had said at the Fine Gael Árd Fheis.

When further prompted by Gerard Barry that Billy Timmins had said the Ireland should be part of a common EU defence, Enda Kenny repeated his statement that: “there is, as you know, a constitutional prohibition on ending neutrality and that ultimately is a matter for the Irish people”.