The government will hold forums on Irish neutrality but they are a set-up to further erode the policy.
There will be handpicked experts who will discuss pre-arranged questions and a final report that will have only one outcome – get rid of neutrality.
The government originally promised that there would be a citizen’s assembly on the issue. This would be based on a random selection of citizens, so the government would not be easily able to control the outcome.
But they are frightened about the real level of support for neutrality.
So instead, they have set up a forum of experts. They will not discuss how Ireland could play a positive role in promoting peace by not aligning itself with any of the big imperialist bocks.
Instead, their focus is the ‘threat to Ireland’s security’. And this is not a reference to the British navy which regularly enters Irish waters and disturbs fishing off Donegal. It is an invented threat to further erode Irish neutrality.
People Before Profit welcomes discussion that is free and fair. The government’s plan is a set-up to take us down the path to NATO.