Sir, – Way back in the mists of time, I spent the summer after I did the Leaving Cert working in Switzerland.
One day, travelling through an Alpine village, I saw a series of steel plates set into the road surface.
It turned out that in time of war, these plates could be lifted and anti-tank traps fitted into the holes. In addition, the Swiss Air Force flew over my head almost every day, in modern fighter jets.
At that time, that was the Swiss version of neutrality, fully armed and ready for any eventuality.
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The version of neutrality that we have here in Ireland at the moment is only an embarrassment. We should either have a fully functioning, fully resourced Defence Forces, or else abandon having a standing army and let the UK provide our external defence, which appears to be what we are doing at the moment. – Yours, etc,
BOB TWIGG,
Kilmeaden,
Co Waterford.
