The Government should join an EU-led military alliance immediately to avoid being burdened with the entire cost of the State's defence, Fine Gael claimed yesterday.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Gay Mitchell, said the State may have to expand greatly its defence capacity if the traditional neutrality policy was not significantly changed.
At a Fine Gael meeting in University College, Dublin, Mr Mitchell said that EU and NATO members might feel that Ireland's wealth was such that it should pay for its own defence, as do Sweden and Austria.
"This could cost a fortune," he said. "By joining [an EU defence entity] we may get security and defence for less cost.
"It is time to examine the basis for our neutrality. It is time to stop making security and defence policy by stealth. It is time to realise that there is nothing inherently moral in adopting a neutral stance on every issue."
In line with a Fine Gael policy paper published last week, he identified five principles that should be applied in a new defence policy:
Adherence to the fundamental principles of the UN;
A commitment to universal nuclear and biological disarmament;
A commitment to mutual defence and support among EU member-states with the freedom to opt into a force instead of automatic membership;
A commitment to the provision of resources for peace-keeping and peace-making;
Respect for the right of other member-states to be involved in other alliances such as NATO.
