The Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has said the EU has gone down a route of further and further militarisation.
Speaking on Katie Hannon Interview Live, Ms Connolly said this "has always been a concern for me and it remains a concern for me".
Ms Connolly said: "As a woman and as a mother, I'm seriously concerned at the direction that countries are going and spending more money on arms and the militarisation while we reduce the money spent on welfare.
"I think those concerns are shared by the majority of people in Ireland, particularly the brought into acute focus because of the genocide in Gaza perpetuated by Israel and funded by America."
Asked about comments she made comparing Germany's rearmament to that of the 1930s , she said she had expressed serious concerns about "the similarities between now and the 30s and I used the example of Germany which is rebooting its economy, going buying more and more more arms."
She condemned the invasion of Ukraine but said she remained concerned about current levels of militarisation.
Connolly defends funding for Syria trip
Ms Connolly defended her use of the Parliamentary Activities Allowance to fund a trip to Syria in 2018.
Asked specifically about her visit to Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, she said a "number of people" had shown her around the camp but denied "fraternising" with a designated terrorist group who were operating there.
Ms Connolly said it was a fact finding mission and she returned with a horror for dictatorship, war and destruction.
Asked about the hiring of a woman has been sentenced to six years in jail for gun crime and was a member of the Socialist Republican party Éirígí, Ms Connolly said she had hired her because she came highly-recommended and she believed in rehabilitation.
She said there were no emails to release regarding the vetting process because she had not been involved in this but had simply written to asking why there had been a delay in issuing the woman with a Dáil pass.
Ms Connolly said she has very little contact with Clare Daly and Mick Wallace but had not asked them to stay away from her campaign.
She also denied that placing a border poll at the centre of her campaign had been the price of securing the political backing of Sinn Féin.
Ms Connolly said she had been to Northern Ireland on many occasions and had people from Northern Ireland saying they wished they could vote for her.
She again confirmed that she would only serve one term as President if elected.
Ms Connolly said she supported a change in relation to Freedom of Information and access to information regarding the office of the Presidency but said all such expenses are subject to scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee.
Asked if her husband Brian McEnery, will be taking the kind of public role that other first gentlemen have taken, Ms Connolly said " I leave that to Brian to decide himself."
Asked about her love of exercise, Ms Connolly said as President she would like to be an example showing the importance of fitness.
Regarding what pets she would bring to the Aras, she said her two cats would be moving in.
Earlier, Ms Connolly thinks Fine Gael is "very worried" about what she termed "this movement gaining momentum with every day".
During a visit to Navan, Co Meath earlier she said it has been that way she began campaigning in July and has grown in "intensity".
Speaking in Navan Shopping Centre, she said it is for the people of Ireland to decide.
"I think the people of Ireland will decide and that's what so special about this election," she said.
"I have absolute confidence in the people of Ireland and I respect their judgement."
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