Richard Boyd Barrett: Warns Ireland Risks Losing Neutrality
Richard Boyd Barrett said the Irish government is abandoning the country's tradition of neutrality by aligning with European militarisation and NATO-aligned powers. He condemned EU and Western leaders for arming Gaza and warned against deploying Irish troops or expanding defence spending.
Richard Boyd Barrett invoked the statue of James Connolly and the portrait of Countess Markiewicz and cited the Irish Neutrality League of 1914 as the origin of Ireland's neutrality tradition - a tradition he said opposed war, empire and colonialism.
He accused the Irish government of wanting to "trash the tradition" established by Connolly and Markiewicz by aligning Ireland with an "embryonic European empire" and a project of militarisation in Europe directly aligned with NATO and dominated by major Western powers.
He defended the triple lock as a barrier to deploying Irish troops where empires are fighting one another and argued the government seeks to remove that safeguard. He warned that ministers want to allow foreign troops to transit Shannon and to involve Ireland in operations tied to European or US military powers.
He criticised Ursula von der Leyen for "greenlighting the genocide against Gaza," said Olaf Scholz invited the Israeli leader to Germany, and accused Germany and the United States of supplying money and arms that enable the attacks in Gaza and the West Bank. He argued Ireland should not be connected to powers he described as arming a genocide.
He warned that sending Irish sons and daughters to fight for European or US empires would bring a domestic price and criticised proposals to spend billions more on weapons. He said those funds should instead be directed to housing, health and education and argued James Connolly would "turn in his grave." He concluded by addressing the leader of the government.
Historical roots of neutrality
Richard Boyd Barrett invoked the statue of James Connolly and the portrait of Countess Markiewicz and cited the Irish Neutrality League of 1914 as the origin of Ireland's neutrality tradition - a tradition he said opposed war, empire and colonialism.
Government alignment with European militarisation
He accused the Irish government of wanting to "trash the tradition" established by Connolly and Markiewicz by aligning Ireland with an "embryonic European empire" and a project of militarisation in Europe directly aligned with NATO and dominated by major Western powers.
Triple lock and deployment concerns
He defended the triple lock as a barrier to deploying Irish troops where empires are fighting one another and argued the government seeks to remove that safeguard. He warned that ministers want to allow foreign troops to transit Shannon and to involve Ireland in operations tied to European or US military powers.
Gaza, arms and moral objections
He criticised Ursula von der Leyen for "greenlighting the genocide against Gaza," said Olaf Scholz invited the Israeli leader to Germany, and accused Germany and the United States of supplying money and arms that enable the attacks in Gaza and the West Bank. He argued Ireland should not be connected to powers he described as arming a genocide.
Domestic consequences and spending priorities
He warned that sending Irish sons and daughters to fight for European or US empires would bring a domestic price and criticised proposals to spend billions more on weapons. He said those funds should instead be directed to housing, health and education and argued James Connolly would "turn in his grave." He concluded by addressing the leader of the government.
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Transcript
The statue of James Connolly is behind us. The portrait of Countess Markiewicz is outside in the hall. Two of Ireland's greatest revolutionaries, who stood for working people and stood against empire, set up the Irish Neutrality League in 1914. That is where our tradition of neutrality comes from. Two of the greatest revolutionaries revered by the people of this country because they opposed war, empire and colonialism. That is where it comes from. The Irish government wants to trash the tradition established by Connolly and Markiewicz and the people who led the Irish Revolution against colonialism, against war and against empire, by aligning us with the embryonic European empire and project of militarization in Europe directly aligned with NATO, dominated by the major Western imperial powers. That is the simple truth. The triple lock, as inadequate as the United Nations is, prevents us from deploying troops where empires are fighting against each other. It prevents us from sending troops and taking sides in battles between empires. Because our tradition is to oppose empire. And you want to be able to deploy troops where Ursula von der Leyen and Olaf Scholz or, for that matter, a US administration that you go grovelling over to and then insults you, humiliates you in any event, the Trump administration. You want to allow their troops to go through Shannon as they rain down missiles in Yemen. And as both the European leaders, and I disagree with those who are saying Trump is a horror, which he is, a pig and a horror, and a warmonger and an imperialist. But Ursula von der Leyen greenlighted the genocide against Gaza. Olaf Scholz invites the war criminal Netanyahu to Germany. Germany is the major provider of arms and weapons carrying out a genocide. Why would we want to deploy troops in any way connected with military powers guilty of arming a genocide? The Israeli genocide against Gaza, the ethnic cleansing of West Bank, apartheid, couldn't happen without US money and arms and European money and arms. And you want to involve us in that. And smash up the tradition of Conley and Markowitz to stand against all of that. And we will pay a price for this. Because the genocide in Gaza is coming home to roost. If Irish, our sons and daughters are sent out to fight in wars for European or US empires, we will pay the price. You now want to spend billions more on weapons that should go into housing, health and education. Conley would turn in his grave. We now go to the leader of the government.