IRELAND:Future planning is to be based on the concept of 'active neutrality', Dermot Ahern tells Deaglán de Bréadún
The first phase of Irish foreign policy was focused historically on securing sovereignty and international recognition. More recently, a second phase concentrated on peace and prosperity for the island.
But now we are entering a third phase which will be based on what Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern calls "active neutrality".
In an interview with The Irish Times, he reeled off the elements of this new approach. Ireland would act as a "bridge" between developed and developing countries and "a global leader" in the campaign against HIV, poverty and underdevelopment.
Drawing on its own experience of conflict resolution, this new, dynamic Ireland would act as "an intermediary and facilitator" in peace processes around the world and to this end a Conflict Analysis and Resolution Unit is being established in his department.
Ireland would be "first on the ground" when the latest humanitarian crisis erupted, in line with its ambition to be "the" (not "a") model UN member state in this century.
Our multimillion overseas aid budget and an "unrivalled commitment" to UN peacekeeping are all part of this new phase which is intended to "match the values and ambitions of Ireland in the 21st century".
One of the Minister's first official engagements in the new year involves travelling to Brindisi in Italy with Minister of State Conor Lenihan as part of a new initiative whereby Ireland will provide emergency supplies for up to 30,000 people caught in a humanitarian disaster.
"That's where the UN have a base for international response. All the supplies are bought and sourced. We are also putting them in the Curragh," he says. This follows an agreement signed with the World Food Programme on October 13th last. A total of €1.5 million was spent in the past year on the "pre-positioning" of supplies, mainly emergency shelter and housing materials as well as water and sanitation equipment. "We will then contract the necessary transportation to get these out at the drop of a hat basically," the Minister says.
He is also establishing a Rapid Response Corps, basically a register of highly-skilled and experienced Irish personnel to serve at short notice in emergency situations.
"We are working in conjunction with the Army," Ahern says. "Initially what they are doing is hand-picking people because there are quite a number of people who have been abroad on missions."
Personnel seconded to these agencies will be deployed within 72 hours of an emergency developing and will work on the ground with an appropriate UN agency for a period of three months.
"And then we're starting a volunteer centre in O'Connell Street. It will be a state-of-the-art centre, basically a one-stop shop for anyone in the community who wants to, first of all, get information about what Irish Aid is doing around the world but more importantly anyone who wants to involve themselves working with NGOs or Irish Aid abroad, volunteering."
Irish Aid is the development division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and an independent report has raised questions about the quality of anti-fraud procedures and the adequacy of staff numbers for the audit and evaluation of its overseas aid programmes.
Mr Ahern responds: "The last number of years have seen huge growth in the aid budget. The purpose of this independent report is to help us put in place the most effective systems to manage these increases. I welcome the recommendations in the report; they can only help to make our programme even more effective."
In his latest initiative, the Minister has called for a freeze, followed by a total ban, on cluster bombs, which pose such a major threat to civilians. "We want a full ban. Others want a ban on their use in civilian areas. Whatever the result, we need a freeze now," he says.
But despite his espousal of "active neutrality", critics say the Minister and the Government are less than neutral in their attitude to alleged CIA flights passing through Shannon airport. So why not institute a regime of Garda inspections to help allay public fears that kidnapped prisoners are being transported through Irish airspace?
"Because I can't tell the guards to go in and inspect your house, can I? It's private property," he replies. "We are subject to the rules of private property. The guards are entitled to go on these planes if they suspect, have a reasonable suspicion, that there is an offence being committed on our soil. They have an entitlement and indeed a duty to inspect. But I can't determine that for them." But what about an occasional swoop, out of the blue? "You can't do it out of the blue. There are legal consequences."
Nor does he accept the point that the Government has brought in random breath-tests for drivers of cars: "There's a difference. They are on a public thoroughfare, they are in a public place. If you look at any summons, it's a public place. If you're boarding a plane, it's private property. You cannot enter private property."
He does believe that the 1944 Chicago Convention on aviation from 1944 needs to be updated. "When a plane is transiting it is not required to give any information about who is on the plane, what's on the plane, it's only required to give its last point of exit out of European airspace." But he accepts the word of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and other US officials that no prisoners are coming through Shannon.
Turning to the domestic political scene, he attributes Fianna Fáil's good showing in recent opinion polls to "the intelligence and the fairness of the Irish people", who were not swayed by publicity about donations given to Bertie Ahern. "The people said, 'Now, hold on a second, this man is being unfairly treated.' " He believes someone was out to "get" the Taoiseach but doesn't know who it was: "Whoever leaked the document. We thought we would be at a low ebb over it but we battened down the hatches and did our best." The interview was conducted prior to the publication of the Moriarty report on Charles J Haughey but The Irish Times subsequently contacted the Minister's spokesman, who said Mr Ahern had no comment at this stage.
Mr Ahern did not see the recent TV3 interview where Labour leader Pat Rabbitte appeared to equivocate on his vow never to go into coalition with Fianna Fáil: "I didn't see him saying it, I only read the subsequent comment." He continues: "I have no real interest in the political gymnastics that are going on, in this respect. We can indulge in those when the election has been held."
But would he turn up his nose at a coalition with Labour under Pat Rabbitte if the numbers dictated it? "My attitude is, we'll wait until after the election and then the numbers will dictate to us, to all of the parties, what is possible and what is not possible."
However, he reiterates his party's position against coalition with Sinn Féin, which is "absolutely" ruled out. "We just ideologically have not got much in common with Sinn Féin," he says. Would he now regard them as a constitutional party? "I would regard them, yes, as (being) entitled as anyone to be considered for coalition." But that was "a huge way different" from saying that Fianna Fáil would go into government with Sinn Féin.
Was this because he still saw the shadow of the gunman over Sinn Féin? "No." The deciding factor is policy and what he regards as its hard-left political stance on the economy and European issues: "They want to put up corporation tax to 17 per cent. They want to put capital gains tax back up." He also disagrees with Sinn Féin on social policies: "They're all things to all men and women."
Mr Ahern once said that coalition with the Green Party was "not that off the wall", but he is reluctant to be drawn on the matter again other than to remark that "Fianna Fáil have done an awful lot on environmental issues."
He highlights his own personal commitment to the environment and sustainability.
"I have no bin in my house," he says. "I recycle virtually everything I produce. We've been doing it successfully since 2000. So I pay no service charges. We have a brilliant recycling centre in Dundalk which is funded by the State and I go there every fortnight and recycle. We have six or seven recycle bins in the house. About five-sixths of everything we produce every week is not recyclable and that is compacted in the recycling centre. We compost as well. I am also putting in a wood-pellet stove at the moment, getting a grant of €1,100 from the State and I'm also putting in solar panels in my house."
When Bertie Ahern steps down from the leadership of Fianna Fáil, will he be offering himself as a candidate? "I take every day as it comes," he replies. "I don't know where I will be tomorrow; hopefully I will be still around."