Martin hits out at 'incoherent' protesters who were removed during forum speech in Cork

The aim of the forum is to build public understanding and generate discussions on foreign, security, and defence policies. It began on Thursday amid criticism of the line-up of speakers from the opposition and president.

You can watch the afternoon session of the forum below:

The Tánaiste has since hit out at the "incoherent" protesters, adding that what they said "not evidence based".

Shortly after the event started, members of the Connolly Youth Movement interrupted Mr Martin’s speech at the forum on Thursday morning. The protestors held up a banner reading “NATO Wars Millions Dead” and spoke above Mr Martin as he tried to address the crowd.

As he spoke, protesters were heard shouting "shame on you" and "no to Nato".

Mr Martin engaged with the protesters telling them: "The most undemocratic thing you can do is try to shut down debate which is what you're trying to do.

"What you are saying is that it is on your terms and nobody else's terms but that is not what we are going to do today."

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence continued his address despite the protesters and gardaí removed a number of people from the room.

Towards the end of his address, protesters once again interrupted with one man saying that Mr Martin had "betrayed the people of Cork".

Before concluding his speech, he said that he looked forward to a respectful discussion and debate on the issue.

Mr Martin left the stage to lengthy applause as one man standing in front of the stage continued to voice his objections.

The protester, who was shouting both in Irish and English, was escorted out of the forum as chairperson Professor Louise Richardson took to the stage.

His exit was immediately followed by further interruptions from two other members of the audience including Cork City councillor Lorna Bogue.

Prof Richardson described the event as “participatory democracy with all its strength and weaknesses”.

She added: “We are not allowing disruptions of speeches, I have the floor at the moment.”

The demonstrators were encouraged to leave or remain seated for the opportunity to engage in the debate later.

When asked about the protesters, Mr Martin said "Ireland has a very proud record in international affairs".

"Without question there was an attempt to disrupt forum this morning," he said. "Trying to shut down debate is not the right approach."

Mr Martin said there 80 panellists will take part in the discussions over four days, with members of the public able to take part virtually or they can register to attend, so there was "no need" for the protest.

"We anticipated that there would be some attempt like that. I'm a democrat, I believe in free speech, I believe in peaceful protest as well. But I also believe that people should allow others speak and I think the efforts this morning were efforts to disrupt the flow of the consultative forum and not to allow it get off the ground."

Dominic Carroll of the Cork Neutrality Forum, who also tried to interrupt proceedings with a point of order to “address the imbalance of speakers”, said those gathering outside the event would be trying to make their point through out the day.

Mr Carroll said: “First of all, we were promised the citizens assembly and we're still insisting upon the citizens assembly.

This was initially pitched as a public forum on security policy, with the promise that the public would be at the centre of the proceedings. And then it was actually changed to a consultative forum.

“We’ll be protesting outside and inside we'll attempting to make points of order.”

In his address at the forum, Mr Martin said it aims to build a deeper public and political understanding of the international security environment and Ireland’s role in this complex world.

"I am confident that, as a country, we can and should have a respectful and informed debate, from which we can all learn.

"I am also very conscious that there are a variety of opinions in the country about the appropriate direction of foreign and security policy and it is important that all voices are heard.

He warned that the reality of the new threat environment in global security was brought home to all of us in Ireland in 2021 with the ransomware attack on the HSE.

He added that just last year, Russia attempted to hold a naval exercise in our Exclusive Economic Zone just weeks before their unprovoked and illegal war on Ukraine.

"Our own territorial waters — and our wider Exclusive Economic Zone, our ‘EEZ’, which is close to seven times our land area — is an area of critical and strategic importance for Ireland.

"Approximately three quarters of Ireland’s natural gas is imported via pipelines. Ireland’s EEZ is home to fibre optic cables that carry some 97% of global communications.

For these reasons he said it is important to now discuss cybersecurity and maritime security and critical infrastructure.

"We need to fully understand the threat environment, and develop systems to ensure that such infrastructure is adequately protected," said Mr Martin.

Sinn Féin spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Defence Matt Carthy and MEP Clare Daly are among those in attendance who have already contributed from the floor.

Ms Daly said “Putin’s illegal invasion” of Ukraine has accelerated a path towards militarism in Europe.

“Nobody seems to say that growing militarism actually leads to more wars.” 

Ms Daly, who was seated beside Mick Wallace MEP, said Russia is responsible for the invasion “but it has to be explained in the context of Nato expansion”.

She said: “I don’t want to be used by Russia – and I don’t think that’s going to happen – but I don’t want to be used by Nato either.

The best contribution we can make, as a country that was formerly colonised, yet a mature western democracy, is to join countries where the majority of the world’s people live who have also experienced colonialism and say: ‘You know what, we have to get together’.” 

Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) director international security studies Dr Neil Melvin responded from the panel by saying the idea the war was about Nato expansion is a Russian “propaganda line”.

“This is not a Washington-driven grand strategy. The last 20 years has been often Nato being pulled into these countries by the agencies of the countries themselves because they feel vulnerable.” 

Separately, former UN peacekeeper Edward Horgan criticised US troops passing through Shannon Airport.

“This is not military neutrality, this is not neutrality of any sort in fact.”

It comes as the President said Ireland is “playing with fire” in a drift towards Nato.

In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, Michael D Higgins criticised the line-up of those invited to speak at the forum, saying they comprised “the admirals, the generals, the air force, the rest of it”.

Mr Higgins had also referred to Prof Richardson as a person with a “very large letter DBE” (Dame Commander of the British Empire) after her name.

He has since apologised to Prof Richardson for the “throwaway” remark.

Opposition parties have also been critical of the Government’s approach to the forum as well as the line-up of speakers.

Mr Carthy said an independent foreign policy “has served us well and that neutrality should be enshrined in the constitution”.