and they still claim to back neutrality!

In a shocking revelation about the true nature of Irish neutrality, the 26-County government has admitted that states armed with nuclear weapons or that are members of a nuclear armed military alliance are making extensive use of our airspace and our airports.

Concerns will be compounded by the government's decision to send representatives to the next NATO Summit in Prague later this month.

The Peace & Neutrality Alliance (PANA), in a query under the Freedom of Information Act, has learnt of a plethora of military overflights and landings by nuclear nations, far more than anyone had suspected.

Between 1 August 2001 and 1 July 2002, military aircraft from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, China, Holland, Russia, the United States, Israel, Spain, Portugal, Norway, and the Czech Republic were granted the right to overfly Irish territory on 2,176 occasions and land in this state on 384 occasions.

Since successive governments have refused to declare Ireland a nuclear free zone, the Irish people do not know if these aircraft are armed with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. PANA chair Roger Cole says the group now intends to contact all Dáil groups to support a Nuclear Free Zone Bill it has drafted.

PANA has called upon all Dáil groups to put forward a resolution to ensure that our airports and airspace will not be used by states that break or threaten to break international law.

And speaking n the Dáil on Wednesday, Caoimhghín ó Caoláin sammed Irish attendance at a NATO meeting later this month as "a shame and a disgrace".

"We learned yesterday that for the first time ever this State is to be represented at a NATO summit where the Minister for Foreign Affairs will lead a high-level delegation," said ó Caoláin. "This is a shame and a disgrace. The Department of Foreign Affairs must take the Irish people for fools if they expect them to accept their explanation that the Minister is not really attending a NATO meeting but a meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership. The EAPC is meeting in the same building at the same time as the main NATO event and they will have shared meetings. The EAPC is the political wing of NATO's so-called Partnership for Peace. And the PfP is an integral part of NATO.

"Is it not time for the government to end the charade and to admit that it no longer has a policy of military neutrality. It is quite pathetic for them to allow Shannon to be used by foreign powers as a military staging post and then to pretend that it is something quite normal, which no one should worry about. It is equally pathetic to have ministers slinking in and out of NATO meetings, like the boys at the back of the chapel in days gone by.

"The dust has hardly settled on the Nice referendum and already this government is breaking its commitment to honour Irish neutrality. In conclusion, I want to call for an early debate in this House on the proposals for a draft EU Constitution which have emerged from the EU Convention. These proposals would pave the way for a fully fledged United States of Europe, with a central government. They are outline proposals at present and there is clearly a huge divergence of opinion on their implications but now is the time they should be discussed here so that at the very earliest stage the representatives of the people have a full input into the process."