Joe Biden’s visit was ‘utterly nauseating’, says People Before Profit – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Joe Biden’s visit was ‘utterly nauseating’, says People Before Profit




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A People Before Profit TD has defended his party’s decision to boycott US President Joe Biden’s Oireachtas speech yesterday, reports RTE.

Paul Murphy said that since the war in Ukraine, the government has been pushing to “dismantled” neutrality and Mr Biden’s visit has aided that goal.

The MP claimed that Ireland’s neutrality has been “hallowed out” for decades and that the government is keen to formalize this arrangement.

Speaking to Philip Boucher-Hayes on RTÉs Today, Mr Murphy said he found the whole trip “completely disgusting” due to the way the media and politicians were doing it.

There “hasn’t been a single critical question asked” to Mr Biden, he said reports RTE.

Mr Murphy said he would like to have a Dell debate tomorrow for an unbiased assessment of President Biden, as has been done in relation to other world leaders.

The PBP was not allowed to speak yesterday, he said, and opinions should be heard in the Diyal.

“It’s a parliament not a soapbox for the most powerful person in the world to come make a speech, it’s ridiculous,” reports RTE.

Deputy Murphy said Ireland should not support “US imperialism” and its global efforts through Shannon Airport.

He called for a referendum on neutrality, claiming that since the war in Ukraine the government had accelerated the process of “getting rid of neutrality”, reports RTE.

Secretary of State Thomas Byrne defended President Biden’s draft address to the Oireachtas, in which only he, Sean Comhairle and Cathyorlich of the Senate spoke.

“It was ceremonial. It gave the president an opportunity to speak. The ceann comhairle and the cathaoirleach – nobody else spoke in the parliament and I thought that was a much better format than previous,” he told the same programme,” reports RTE.

Mr Byrne rejected suggestions that Ireland had become an “associate member of NATO” and pointed to Mr Biden’s quotation of John F Kennedy on his Irish visit 60 years ago,” reports RTE.

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