Mattie McGrath Demands Answers on Warships Docked in Cork
Mattie McGrath questioned the presence of warships in Cork, asking who invited them, what their mission was and who bears the cost. He warned the activity risks eroding Ireland's neutrality and urged the minister to guarantee continued independence and commitment to UN peacekeeping.
Main concern
McGrath argued that Ireland's neutrality should be grounded in being a peacemaker and a neutral mediator, and that those principles must underpin active participation in UN peacekeeping. He warned of the danger that Ireland could end up fighting in other people's wars if neutrality is compromised.
Warships in Cork
He said one British warship was in the quay in Cork ten days ago and one Canadian ship was present yesterday, and questioned why NATO warships were in the port. McGrath asked who invited the ships to "our port" and what their mission and purpose in Cork had been.
Questions for the minister
McGrath demanded answers on sponsorship and costs, asking who was bearing the cost of their guard and whether the State was "minding them". He also asked whether the visits were a possible precursor to Ireland participating with NATO, warning "we can't ride two horses".
Parliamentary accountability
McGrath criticised the Taoiseach's absence from leaders' questions, saying the Taoiseach should be answerable to the parliament rather than engaged in foreign talks. He pressed the minister to provide clarity to the Dáil on these visits and to guarantee Ireland's independence and neutrality.
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Goor maith agat. Minister, one of the core elements supporting Ireland's neutrality policy should be the wish for Ireland to be a peacemaker, a neutral mediator seeking international justice and a fair contributor to the humanitarian cause, which we always have been. They should always underpin Ireland's consistent and active participation in UN peacekeeping. Otherwise, we're under the risk of our sons and daughters and grandchildren going to fight for other people's wars. Minister, I'm very concerned about the slippery slope that you're on here and the stance you're taking here without any reasonable modicum of debate here. And I want to ask you, Minister, on your own city of Cork, we had two warships there, one British ten days ago in the quay in Cork and one Canadian on our present yesterday. And we had at least 10 Gary arrived yesterday when there was one or two people up to question what they were doing and the amount of cost that is to mind it. I want to know who invited these warships into our port of Cork and the people's port I mean by our port and what's their mission been there, NATO warships and what are they doing there and what do we hope to achieve by having them there? Is this a softening up for us to be slipped into participation with NATO? Because we're supposed to be neutral and we should be neutral. I said it here last week, we can't ride two horses and if we try that we'll fail in both of them. So I want answers to me here as to who invited these warships and why were they there and what's the purpose of them in there and that we guarantee that we will maintain our independence. The Taoiseach has ever heard Barron in the chamber where he was sought after the job of Taoiseach, he's in Spain, he's in NATO talks, he's in all kinds of talks, cheerleading for Europe, instead of being here answerable to the parliament. This is the second or third week in a row that he hasn't been here for leaders' questions and he only had a limited time and he's all over the place. I'm a Marine deputy. I'm a Marine deputy. I'm a Marine deputy. I'm a Marine deputy. This is Ireland. He's responsible for this parliament, not the Ukrainian parliament. That doesn't justify, that doesn't justify, that doesn't justify he not being here. So I want those answers from you. Why are these warships here? Who's sponsoring him and who's bearing the cost of the guard? Are you minding them?
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