In March 2003, a backbench Deputy stated here, "How can anyone say that an aeroplane loaded with military equipment flying through Shannon Airport to a war situation in Iraq, without a UN mandate, does not contribute to, if not represent, participation in that activity?" He went on to add that "one of those possible consequences is the possibility that Shannon and Ireland will become targets for terrorist counter-strikes". That individual was Deputy Enda Kenny, who is now the Taoiseach. In June 2006 a backbench Deputy stated "It is wrong for the Government to have a two-faced approach" and went on to say that "from the troop levels going through Shannon Airport and the worldwide documentation on extraordinary rendition, we know in our hearts it is wrong. It is regrettable the Government avoids discussing these proposals in a serious way." That was the Tánaiste.

I remember it well.

Put it in the manifesto.

When she started in politics, did the Tánaiste think she would be deputy leader of a Government that promotes a war campaign that has led to the deaths of almost 2 million innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq alone? Is the Tánaiste prepared to take any action to stop Shannon Airport being used to facilitate the war-mongering and violent ends of the US war machine? Across the water, there is a Labour leader who does not agree with war. He does not agree with the militarisation of the planet or the mindless destruction caused by the US military war machine and its western allies. Does the Tánaiste have any support for Jeremy Corbyn's position?

I opposed the war in Iraq and continue to seek, in so far as it is possible, a solution to the dreadful violence, in particular right across the Arab countries, the Middle East and Syria. My record relating to peace making, peace promotion and the ending of war is very clear and on a series of public records, including here. I worked in Africa and in the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda to bring peace to that country, where the greatest genocide since that of the Jews in the Second World War took place. My record on peace making is very clear. I absolutely stand by it.

If the Deputy is asking whether I favour war, of course I do not favour war. Ireland is a neutral country.

It is not if we support the American war machine.

We restated our neutrality as recently as in the White Paper on Defence. As the Deputy well knows, we are committed to a process of triple lock with any decisions that involve our troops, who serve with distinction in peace making and conflict prevention right around the world. That is the record of the Government and the Deputy is seeking to make allegations that do not stand up.

They stand up. The Tánaiste is running away from them.

They do.

I stand over my record on promoting peace and peace making.

We do not know what atrocities some of those Americans carried out in Iraq having flown through Shannon Airport.

If the Deputy is suggesting there has been a policy change on my part, he is entirely wrong. It is important that all Deputies on all sides of the House should use their good offices to seek to make peace in Syria and Iraq as soon as possible in order that the people fleeing those war zones may return, as they wish, to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

That will not happen when warplanes are going through Shannon Airport.

As we come close to Christmas, it is an incredibly important task facing everyone who is involved with politics at this time.

The Tánaiste has said she is in favour of peace. She has been in government for five years. When Labour were in opposition, they were in favour of searching US military planes in case they were carrying arms and munitions through Shannon. Not one plane has been checked since the Government came to power. How can the Tánaiste say she is promoting peace and not war? Last year alone, we gave permits for US civilian charter planes to carry 190 tonnes of bullets; they flew over Ireland to go to Afghanistan. Is that working for peace?

Is the Tánaiste prepared to stop Shannon Airport being used as a US military aircraft base? The dogs on the street know we are not neutral any more and we have taken sides. We facilitate the war-mongering of the Americans, as 2.5 million troops have passed through Shannon Airport, with arms and munitions of a quantity we cannot even imagine because we are not searching the planes.

They have caused untold destruction. Conservative research has put the deaths of innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 at 2 million - 2 million innocent civilians. Many of those troops, bullets and bombs came through Shannon Airport. Why will the Government not search the planes and why will the Tánaiste not take a position on it? If she says that we are for peace and neutrality, we would not allow one of our airports to be used as a military base by anybody. We are allowing Shannon Airport to be used as a US military base to bomb the homes of people and destroy untold lives and countries. A total of 33 million people have been displaced today because of war and whether the Tánaiste likes it or not, the US military machine and the western allies are the cause of most of it. We are complicit by allowing them to use Shannon Airport to do so. Before the election, will the Tánaiste promise that if she is re-elected, she will insist on US military planes being searched? We need Shannon Airport to be a civilian airport again. The Irish people do not want it to be a military base for the US war machine.

Ireland is a neutral country. The Deputy may choose to interpret the role of the Irish Army, Irish peacekeepers and Irish gardaí in a different way but what our armed forces are used for-----

Hold on, I did not interrupt Deputy Mick Wallace. What we do as a neutral country is take part in peacekeeping missions and conflict prevention missions around the world at the request of the United Nations, subject to the triple lock. To a degree, some of the language used by Deputy Mick Wallace is what would be called "dog whistle politics" in Australia. In other words, he is basically implying that there are utterly illegal actions by authorities in Ireland. He is suggesting that Shannon is a military airport, which is fanciful in the extreme. Does he understand what the consequences of his statements might be in terms of the safety of people in Ireland? I ask him to-----

In fairness to Deputy Mick Wallace-----

This is Deputy Mick Wallace's question.

In fairness to him, I am just saying it is to be considered in the language used by him about Irish airports, people, troops and facilities. If he has any information that leads him to believe that Shannon has become a military airport, will he make that information available? I ask him to be careful. As an island nation, we are neutral and we use the Army and our troops for peacekeeping and conflict prevention. For the Deputy to suggest just for the sake of some potential media coverage that this is other than a neutral country may end up putting Irish people and institutions at risk, something I am sure he would not wish for.