Irish Examiner view: President's comments on neutrality spark a war of words

President Michael D Higgins' comments on neutrality came ahead of the forthcoming four-day public consultation forum on international security policy that begins in UCC on Thursday.

Ireland is facing a moral and existential challenge in the coming weeks and months as the issue of our country’s neutrality comes sharply into focus.

The intervention by President Michael D Higgins into the national debate on Ireland’s neutrality in the past few days sparked, in parts, anger, shock and, in some cases, accusations of unfairness, as he said the country was engaged in a “dangerous drift” in foreign policy.