Can Ireland Keep its Neutrality? | The Tonight Show

Claire Brock is joined by Dr Tom Clonan, Peadar Tóibín TD, Emer Higgins TD and Journalist John Mooney to discuss Ireland's stance on political neutrality. With Ireland supporting the half a billion euro being spent on logistical and military support for Ukraine, Claire asks how far Ireland is willing to go to push Ireland's neutrality. Dr Tom Clonan explains Ireland's neutrality is complex; Ireland contributed troops to the NATO operations in Afghanistan right back in 2002. He believes there has been a false sense of security on the push back of Russia and the sanctions placed upon them. Russia has been using technology to study surveillance of the cities of Kyiv and more. He believes that we are going to see Russia bring up their main forces to destroy these cities they have been watching and identifying. He emphasises this is not a fight for Ukraine; this is a fight for Europe and our shared values as a democracy. Peadar Tóibín TD believes Ireland should abstain from the lethal force against Russia. He would caution the government going any further. Emer Higgins TD emphasises that although Ireland is a neutral country, we are on the side of innocent people. She puts forward the recent sanctions against Russia as evidence of this. Claire Brock asks the panel how they would react to Eamon Ryan saying that if Ireland do more, it could sacrifice our peacekeeping. John Mooney laughs at this, he says it is a load of nonsense. John breaks down Russia's military plan. He believes that there are different types of Russian forces and that the strong arm of the military will begin shelling Ukrainian cities. He suggests that Russian troops may find it difficult to attack Kyiv as it is the birthplace of Russian Christianity. John looks back on Russia's history of invading countries, there is no real history of them pulling out due to international sanctions. John believes it is only a matter of time before they start shelling Ukrainian cities. #TonightVMTV #RussianSanctions #IrelandNeutrality #ClaireBrock