Longford Election: Ireland should be an agent for peace, not war

International peace is what keeps us safe and Ireland can be a leader in this field, according to Saoirse McHugh, independent candidate in the Midlands Northwest for the upcoming European elections.

“We cannot compete militarily and nor should we, our neutrality and our position as a global advocate for peace and reconciliation are what can keep us safe.”

Defence has been a topic of discussion since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the government is making moves to remove Ireland’s triple lock, a mechanism which prevents Ireland from deploying soldiers into foreign conflicts, something McHugh believes would be a huge mistake.

“We already have US warplanes landing in Shannon every day, dozens of the components in weapons are manufactured in Ireland and are used to kill people in Gaza and elsewhere, so we’re not really neutral. If we really want to be safe we should be protecting our neutrality, not undermining it.”