Opposition warns on neutrality as Government seeks to scrap army overseas 'triple lock'

An Irish UN soldier at entrance of the Irish UN peacekeepers base in Tireh village south Lebanon

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT TD Bríd Smith has said the removal of the triple lock for Irish military involvement in operations abroad will “inevitably lead to Ireland’s involvement in wars”.

Smith’s comments come as Tánaiste Micheál Martin will today seek Government approval to draft legislation to get rid of the triple lock.

If approved by Cabinet, the bill will change how Ireland deploys the Defence Forces on peacekeeping missions overseas and will essentially remove the veto power of UN Security Council members over Ireland’s overseas engagements.

The Tánaiste intends to bring the legislation to Cabinet in June if he receives sign-off today.

The Tánaiste announced his intentions to get rid of the triple lock late last year, in a move that took many by surprise.

The “triple lock” is a mechanism that sets out the conditions under which more than 12 Irish troops may participate in overseas peace support operations.

For troops to take part, the operation must be mandated by the United Nations; it must be approved by the Government; and it must be approved by Dáil Éireann.

You can read a full Explainer on the triple lock here. 

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Smith said that the removal of the triple lock “really endangers our neutrality and it will inevitably lead to Ireland’s involvement in wars”.

She said that the removal of the triple lock “would mean that we could envisage a situation, in a world that is increasingly splintering … where sons and daughters of Irish families will be sent to fight in wars in other parts of the world”.

“We believe that this is continually proven that the people of Ireland do not want this. They respect their neutrality, they want to maintain their neutrality,” Smith said.

People Before Profit have called for a referendum on neutrality before any decision is made.

The Tánaiste’s announcement last year came after a “consultative forum” which looked at Ireland’s place in global foreign affairs was held at various locations across Ireland.

In her report that followed the forum’s chairperson Louise Richardson suggested that there is currently “no popular mandate” to change the State’s ongoing policy of neutrality.

The Tánaiste has highlighted however that a significant number of submissions referred to the need to revisit the triple lock.

As it stands, the current triple lock system effectively allows UN Security Council members to veto deployment of Ireland’s Defence Forces.

However, no new peacekeeping mission has been approved by the UN Security Council in a decade.

The five permanent members of the Council – China, France, Russia, UK, USA each have a veto.

It is understood the Tánaiste believes there is a growing need to be able to dispatch Irish troops quickly with the flexibility to urgently respond to any crisis anywhere.

One example of this is in instances where Irish citizens require assistance abroad. In recent years there has been an increase in demand for the Irish Defence Forces to assist with evacuation operations.

In order to do this and allow Irish troops to be sent overseas via a national decision-making process, legislative change is required.

It is understood any legislative proposals would remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law.

Meanwhile, any revised legislative framework will continue to require Government and Dáil approval, where appropriate, for the dispatch of Defence Forces’ personnel to take part in peacekeeping and similar missions.

It is understood the Tánaiste will argue the proposed legislation will not change Ireland’s traditional position of military neutrality

He will also argue that it aims to simplify the authorisation for Ireland to take part in international live military exercises – like the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.

Elsewhere at Cabinet today, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will update Government with a progress report on Sláintecare.

The report outlines that the number of primary care centres has increased by 35% since 2019, with 174 now in operation across the country.

A further seven centres are due to open this year with 44 more in planning stages.