'Ireland pursues an independent course in foreign policy, but it is not neutral between liberty and tyranny and never will be.'' In recalling John F Kennedy's words to the Dáil in 1963, Simon Coveney yesterday echoed Taoiseach Micheál Martin's call for what the Minister for Foreign Affairs called a "reflection" on our policy of military neutrality: "On how it has evolved and what it means, at a time when so many of our assumptions have been overturned, and in which the growth of hybrid and cyber warfare means that geography no longer dictates our security and defence calculations."
It would not necessarily involve joining Nato, he argued, but the crisis gave added meaning to the strengthening of military co-operation within the EU. For Ireland that meant enhancing the interoperability of troops and assisting in developing security capabilities like cyber warfare which a small country could not tackle on its own.
Speaking to the Institute of International and European Affairs in an annual report on the thrust of Irish foreign policy, Coveney insisted that Ireland stands “unambiguously and unapologetically with Ukraine”.
"We are not politically neutral when it comes to a crisis like this," he said, paying an emotional tribute to the courage of "the people of Ukraine, whose history is being written today, who are showing such extraordinary courage in their determination to define their own future".
This is “a historical moment, a historical test” for Ireland and, 50 years since it joined, for the EU, whose Ukrainian membership Ireland supports. The union’s united and powerful response “mark a watershed moment for the EU, demonstrating the EU’s credibility as a political actor with economic weight that it can bring significant pressure to bear in a crisis”.
Coveney’s pledge that Ireland’s State and people would not be found wanting – on refugees, he promised that “there is no target on how many people we will support” – is welcome. There will be a hefty cost, he admitted, but it is one the country must be prepared to pay.