Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put the position on the record. Every time there is that kind of discussion, an Irish voice normally intervenes to remind people of what our Constitution says and our policy on military neutrality. Of course we are absolutely committed to the European Union and its future but there are different perspectives. The complexity of Common Foreign and Security Policy aims to try to accommodate those perspectives in different ways. Ireland, through our triple lock system, will decide if and when Irish troops travel to different parts of the world. That will not be decided by someone else. That is something we remind people of on a regular basis.